I'm going to exclude my personal residence from this because I don't view this as an investment, I need a place to live.Excluding my primary residence my current breakdown is 47% real estate 53% stocks/cash. 

If an in-person visit is not feasible, we can easily arrange video tours to accommodate your schedule.

With comps ranging from $875K-$1M and your estimated build cost at $550K, the after-completion value gives you a significant equity cushion, making this project highly attractive to lenders.If you plan to hold and rent the property, you could refinance into a DSCR loan after construction, which bases lending on rental income rather than personal income.

Your IRA can borrow, but you have to be careful to not personally guarantee it.

Conventional would allow you to add a fence or do yard work in your bid.I cannot lend to you personally in MA but happy to answer any general questions about the 203k or other Renovation loan programs!

In high-cost markets like Chicago, that can be tough to meet.If you're looking at a duplex, the self-sufficiency test doesn’t apply, so you’d just need to qualify based on your personal income and the rental income your lender allows.If your current lender isn’t familiar with making FHA work in your situation, it might be worth getting a second opinion from someone experienced with FHA multi-unit financing.

People want reliability, honesty, being on time, and having a good personality more than just a few $$.

Personally, my primary residence has appreciated around 6% in market value and I live in Levittown. 

I'll let others chime in on their experiences, but from a motivational perspective, I think attending live events and getting the "conference high" is something that only happens through in-person connections and being in the same room with investors who are eagerly pursuing their real estate/financial goals. 

I 100% agree with the intent aspect and that is an important premise, but the fact is in this particular situation intent for it to be personal use has been confirmed (by way of a public post).