At the end of the 4 years I will have converted approximately $60-80k of housing allowance to approximately 25% equity on a 30-year note [minus taxes, repairs, incorporation expenses, etc].Then, the gray-area: I have some cash on hand, and zero debt.

As I looked through the speakers list I realized there are quite a few with gray hair!

Reed mostly used Lease Options for an example in his article, and I am having trouble seeing the gray and dark areas if a seller agrees to carry a note backed by real estate.

George Gray, thank you very much for the comment.

A legal contract eliminates the gray area and spells out expectations and responsibilities of each partner.

I agree that most tenants have cell phones as a minimum - they usually have a smart phone from what I have seen in my area.Since you wondered what to do in case a landline is desired: If, as you say, the phone company's line does come to the house, then you should be able to identify a gray colored box where that wire terminates.

I did have a rental with a slightly gray tub (not from age, just a fashion color) and found some brown-gray flooring to put in there to coordinate and the tub fit in just fine.

This is a gray area.

Why not a dark gray on the shutters, and a dark red for the door?

In my most recent remodel I used:- off-white for bathroom- different off-white for ceiling- white trim- soft yellow/tan for master bedroom- gray for bedroom- lighter gray for darker middle bedroom- gray/green for living room, kitchen and hallwayThe net effect is that the house "pops."