I feel that in pursuing this new objective, I have learned more about myself and the fascinating world of personal finance in the last few months than I have in... maybe ever.

I am pretty sure they have in their employ someone with a degree in new home marketing or packaging or some such  field and they have the selection of interior finishes for spec homes down to a science.  

Like a lot of you, I've read the Four Hour Workweek and was fascinated by Tim's use of VA's to help keep his day to day live as efficient as possible.

Fascinating discussion

I'm weary of starting off with a far away property.I'm generally a numbers guy (I do data science, not an accountant) so I've been trying to put together a spreadsheet of the finances to see how rental properties stack up against investing in Vangard's SP500 funds. 

Hi @Steven Gillmer -I love that you are looking in our beautiful town of Boise, but I find it fascinating. 

As with our government, the idea of living within your means and saving money seem like rocket science to most people.  

Leo Semenov welcome, this is a fascinating world.

@Dwayne Jones Appraisals are one of the most frustrating parts of my business - but it is an imperfect science and a lot of it is based on personal judgement, so I understand it.

I enjoy learning and I'm fascinated with making good investments for not only myself, but also for the community around me.