In my area finished basement sq. footage is valued around 25-40% of the main sq. footage.

If you're wanting to get into construction managment there's two main areas you would need to make yourself an expert in; Reading plans & Scheduling.

I wasn't really sure how it would pop up, but don't see a reason to risk things and complicate my cash-out.

I have been investing mainly in trust deeds but like you got connected with Dave and just recently ended up investing in his fund, my primary reason was for diversification and because it is passive. 

Id say the main question here to decide if there is a conflict of interest.....is the person saying buy rentals....are they buying rentals themselves?

I felt a lot of pressure with the timeline of the 1031 and just moving to the area and dealing with all of the other aspects of being in a new place so I chose the first deal that seemed reasonable.

Unless there is a reason to submit your tax returns, you could go w2-only. 

It may be more worthwhile to find someone who has reasonable fees for their service as my two cents.I hope this helps in some way! 

In my mind, the reason for doing this would be to have two engaged platforms versus one dominant one.

The main house is original (this place was built in 1924, very cool) and we rent it for $1,650/month.