Focus on what the rents will look like post-renovation with 4 units instead of 2, and have a clear game plan for refinancing to pull your capital back out. 

Negotiating felt like a game of chess—except I was playing against a grandmaster, and my queen was missing.

Throw in some washers and dryers in the units—it's a game-changer.

This decision often comes down to a simple numbers game.

Somehow I think it's better to hold onto my own money and keep that dry powder on the sidelines waiting to get into the game if there are some emergency expenditures (haha, very likely with the kinds of deals I'm thinking about in class C neighborhoods).

Spending too much time on analyzing one deal will put you out of the game on too many other ones...

If appreciation is not there, however, it seems like a potentially long waiting game to see if your $60k investment today returns anything meaningful in the long run. 

I don’t mind having skin in the game either, but I know using private money is key to scaling one day and would like to get some experience with it now, even if it doesn’t fund a majority of the deal. 

Real estate is a long-term game, and your patience will pay off.Since you’re a dentist, you may have a busy schedule, so consider working with a good property manager.

Try again in 2026.It's a long game.