If it's really that tight, first see if you're fit to invest.Going forward, I am a post labor day to spring break REI guy.

Even though they are the expert, you still need to ensure they fit you well.

I need help finding statistics of appreciation, population growth, job growth.California of course has great appreciation and limited competition growth with high house prices making renting almost a necessity but I worry with more people leaving California then coming in this year that Phoenix might be a better investment in terms of long term growth.

They all had their own lawyers of course and it was a mess that took 3 years but eventually the buyer (the developer) did prevail.

Look up the courses taught by Justin Kivel, specifically the Pro forma modeling course and the real estate financial modeling boot camp.

If you read the actual settlement, it does mention ending 6% commissions of course, and the average is actually in the 4-5% range anyway. 

I then called the customer and told them their agent needs an education , of course the deck isnt up to todays code , code changes every year . 

Even in the nice locations, most top out around $2,800.Of course there is also your increased insurance, vacancy, repairs, CapEx, and the never mentioned reduced rent on the main house since having a stranger living in your backyard usually isn't appealing to most renters. 

I get people calling crying they want to sell their lot they bought for $50,000 and I tell them they're lucky to get resale at $5,000...then of course they don't want to sell....but if they don't sell they're paying $1000 year plus property taxes for a lot that likely won't go up in value for years.So think about your exit strategy. 

I don't ski, so Snowshoe sounds like it may be a good fit!