Over the past weekend, my wife and I printed, folded, and mailed 500 direct yellow letters out to absentee owners.

Kids get older, expenses increase, and the drama in your life will multiply X fold if you can't provide for your family.

Since UC Merced has been around, the town has grown 10 fold and will continue too.

Where as the heloc method would likely save 3-4 years.The reason this process CAN work under some circumstances, is two fold. 

If we folded to the trends the media wants us to believe we would still be siting on the sidelines waiting for rates to drop.

Since the late 1960's the inflation rate in the aggregate has increased price about 8 fold. 

I have a 3 bed 1 bath 1200 sq' SFH with full basement.Basement is okay as basements go, but isn't pretty or inviting...Washer and dryer are in the basement.Home is on a septic system.I'm considering converting the smallest bedroom to a laundry room/folding room/extra clothing storage.

Christopher and Scott -A rehab-to-perm loan is a two-part loan process that allows real estate investors to purchase and rehab investment properties that they intend to retain as rentals.The problem with purchase mortgages is three-fold. 1. mortgages take too long 2. you cannot get a mortgage on many distressed properties due to problems with foundation, roof, etc 3. you sink too much money into rentals when putting 20% down and then paying all rehab out-of-pocket without reimbursementCash is a great option, but you are limited by the amount of cash you have. 

If you have a listing that is a great deal then spending a little coin could come back 100 fold or more.

I'm biased towards turnkeys too, but I agree with @Jeff Schechter in that doing all the more advanced stuff from afar can increase your risk ten-fold.