In case of a natural disaster (fire), the property will be tough to rebuild as a multi-family (chances are the city, San Diego will only allow a permit for SF).

Is it possible to rebuild your wife's credit over the course of the next year?

@alex price as everyone has mentioned above, Houston is BOOMING and rebuilding after Harvey. 

I do Complete Rehab, water fire, mold damage restoration, mold inspections, (re-builds) drywall, painting, post construction cleaning, carpet installtion and tearouts, new flooring, property management, I have 11 certifications, 2 are Master Certifications.

I've worked with tenants who needed to rebuild their credit worthiness and have had very good results.

Of course, if you plan on rebuilding, be sure to know the other houses in the area so that you can build a house that will both fit in and be in the right price range for the majority of buyers.I just did a quick search here on BP and found another thread that is related to burnt houses and it may be beneficial to read.

That said; you could conceivably pick up 4-5 properties cash and still have cash reserves for the inevitable repairs and work on your credit score while rebuilding your reserves with great cash flow.

However, there are investors here on BP that have spent a half century (or close to it) focusing on nothing but RE, building a RE empire and have an incredible amount of knowledge that's impossible for a 20 or 30 year old to amass.

However, as you mentioned, I should find something else to do with my time, I am - we just started a tear down and rebuild project and are going to start another one soon.

This is in Vallejo, CA.I received an insurance quote to rebuild another property I have for a max coverage of $380,000 for a 2,200 SF home.