Focus on what the rents will look like post-renovation with 4 units instead of 2, and have a clear game plan for refinancing to pull your capital back out. 

When it comes to a lifestyle property, it's another ball game and all the comments you wrote make total sense, especially for people who like similar things in life.

It’s been a game changer.

Negotiating felt like a game of chess—except I was playing against a grandmaster, and my queen was missing.

Remember, successful asset management is the difference-maker in real estate investing.Two properties could look identical, but how they are managed is the real game-changer

I don't know what the issue is/was, but I think a lot of customers want to play games and he probably did his best to keep them on the straight and narrow. 

Commercial is a totally different ball game than residential, so connecting with a commercial broker will definitely make your life easier.

It's all fun & games, until someone loses money.

There are rules and situations unique to each state and that is why you want to go with a local lender vice someone just reaching out to you telling you they can do it. 2) Better recourse if the lender screws something up: a local lender has more skin in the game so to speak as if they screw something up their name will be mud to local real estate agents in the deal.

Collections are where the game is won or lost, and without proactive management, even the prettiest property can bleed money.