Can anyone direct me to any good (sourced) charts/graphs that show why buy&hold real estate is a much better investment in the long term than the stock market?  

Something that's updated like a Yahoo Finance stock graph?

For instance, a plumber, carpenter, etc.When you get higher up on the ladder of your business, you then start to do things like manage your subordinates.Above Managers, you must then give reports on the progress of your department, milestone achievements, projections of revenues and income, etc.Above Managers, the CEO level, your vision decides the overall direction of your business.I believe every Investor needs to think of their investments a business and you are the CEO driving that business forward with your vision of the future.You should NOT be a specialist, you should be a Generalist that can gather information such as what is the future migration of people in your area, what is the city planning doing in terms of re-zoning, are there any large scale developments that can affect your business (ie... if you are a mom and pop retail store, Walmart will put you out of business), is there a recession on the horizon?

That is an awesome accomplishment and milestone!

(See graph above) The top 3 cities nationally for total sfr returns  ( cash flow+ equity) since 2000 are LA, SF and San Diego.

I like it either hourly with incentives, or project based but with draws based on milestones, and penalties for not meeting them.  

Show them the numbers and provide some graphs if they're visual learners.

Interestingly, they have a graph that shows my market is perfectly on track at 4.5% appreciation per year over the last 20+ years, 2003-2012 is just a big zig zag in the middle.

Don't pay the contractor in advance.  25% down is acceptable with phased payments when specific milestones are hit protects you and encourages your contractor to keep on schedule.  

I am still not sure preliminary disclosure is recognized by TRIDMariusz If this is a non owner occupied loan, TRID doesn't apply; it's to cover milestones in their software.You're better off going elsewhere and not being bitter.