Leverage magnifies return. 3) The effort involved in adding an ADU is comparable or larger than a rehab associated with a BRRRR.

Was he really involved in your deals?

There is less risk involved in the cheaper properties .

I never go off of a flat percentage on anything, I analyze the costs to get to a specific return I target and analyze the risk that is involved. 70% may be an initial metric to see if it is even worth pursuing, but every deal should be evaluated independently based on costs, time and risk involved.

@Claude Diehl Selling a Solo 401(k)-owned property with owner financing is legal but involves compliance considerations.

Was the prosecutor even involved?   

In some syndications, returns may be higher than 15%, but it can be more risky in that there are usually many people involved and if the operator doesn't perform as originally explained then the process of getting your money back can be a little more tricky.

While I haven't done new construction as an investor, I've been involved with them on the design and construction side. $15-$20,000 seems like a very small profit on a $500,000 house.

Build a solid foundation before taking a step up - each and every step of the way.There’s a way to scale recklessly and there is a way to scale safely.When OPM is involved safe is way better than reckless.Despite a life long career in RE, I scaled as followsBought a few duplexes for my own accountBought a fourplex for my own accountBought 12 units as a JV with some friendsSyndicated 43 unitsSyndicated 30 unitsBought another 12 units as a JVSyndicated 281 unitsThis was over a 3 or 4 year period.and so forth - now I am GP in close to 1000 units with $125M AUM.Even with all that, my sweet spot is 30 to 50 unit properties - they work best for my partners and I and more importantly our investors. 

If a trainer won't do that, and if a guaranteed property isn't involved, it goes nowhere.