Perhaps I'm an old out of touch birdie, but if I made $292,000 a MONTH doing land contracts, I would focus all of my time and energy on that and adding to it.

there are of course more creative strategies to reduce that up front outlay, or recoup your capital, like, say, the BRRRR method. but they are time and energy intensive and certainly not hands-off. 

All the large company started with focused areas and started to expand larger after.

However, as I mentioned in my original post, my immediate goal is to move out of our current townhouse into a larger single-family home that better suits my family’s needs (we have a baby and a big dog).

But I like to have single pours are larger surfaces like the floor, so we will have a truck deliver.In Iowa.

My first question is do I pick a good, better, best system that costs from less to more $$ and do I justify the more expensive energy efficient system to grab a little higher rents since tenants will save money.

This is an option to consider and many larger banks/credit unions and nationwide mortgage lenders have released new loan programs allowing 2nds, HELOANS and HELOCS.

For me they've been a great source of ideas, resources, energy, and comradery.

By buying down your rate and placing a larger down payment, you can still achieve true cash flow. 

I can make larger adjustments in rent when a turnover occurs.