Can you invest that money that would be used to pay it off in places that earn more than 7%? 

In any case, I thing your investment are pretty solid and should earn you something between a decent return all the way to a spectacular return depending on the local economic situation.  

The desire to replace W2 income is a mistake many make when approaching real estate as an investment. 

I suspect maximizing the investment might make it slightly less desirable as an owner or at least the renovations might have lower ROI if sold to a homeowner.

Originally posted by @Michael Kinsella:I would second what @Jay Hinrichs said above...there was a follow up post where someone got a loan from them but for realistic rates 8% or so and few points.. under 6% private / hard money simply does not exist unless its a family friends type situation. that bank rates or lower right now for new construction or fix flip Generally speaking, I would be highly skeptical of rates under 8% for a hard money bridge-type scenario.Hard money lenders are getting their capital from somewhere, and those investors are expecting to earn a reasonable yield.

Anyone dissing Jerry, or anyone else out there who is genuinely putting in the work and deserves every penny they EARNED - In addition to dropping gems that are unmatched in the industry are either under a rock, or don't know what they're talking about because they haven't put in 2 mins of the work to give the man a chance.

If you're expecting property owners to sell their home to you at a discount, you'll need to earn their trust - whether that be by demonstrating a successful track record with purchasing/selling similar deals OR by meeting them face to face and separating yourself from the dozens of local investors and realtors.Lastly, I'd recommend searching past posts related to this topic as well as checking out books related to your target investment strategies.All the best!

Unless you have time, desire and knowledge, hiring a property manager sounds like the right option.

Assume you have cash currently earning 4.6% in high yield savings.

I plan to turn a run-down house no one wants into a beautiful and desirable property that other women will fight over.