Tom,Totally get how you're feeling – jumping into your first investment is daunting, especially in a place with price tags like North NJ!

Then if they don't totally tell you off, follow up every month if you still see it advertised.  

@Ven Reddy yes you can rent both separate as the entrance is totally separate but how about utilities.

Here are some considerations:Pros of Using a Hard Money Lender:Speed: Compared to standard lenders, hard money lenders can provide quicker approval and financing processes, which lets you take advantage of time-sensitive possibilities.Flexibility: It may be simpler to obtain financing if HMLs are more accommodating when it comes to credit history and property condition standards.Access to Funds: You may take advantage of more investment opportunities by having quicker access to the equity in your property.Experience: For first-time investors in particular, certain hard money lenders offer invaluable experience and advice that can be helpful in navigating the fix and flip process.Cons of Using a Hard Money Lender:Greater Costs: Hard money loans might have interest rates and other costs that are greater than those associated with standard financing sources, which raises the project's total cost.Term Length: HMLs normally provide loan durations that are shorter, usually lasting between six months and a few years.

We originally bought the home as a trashed foreclosure so knew we had the margins to do a total rehab but this has become a special project.

FSKAX (fidelity total market) FXAIX (fidelity s&p 500) and ONEQ (nasdaq eft) a few of the most basic simple investments have returned 8-12% annually over the last 3 years.

That’s what the Fed is trying to do for total inflation (their number is 2% but that may be difficult for a while) by raising their Fed Funds rate.

Realistically, I am never going to have over 3 total losses in discontiguous houses at the same time, so hopefully something like this is a legal possibility.My actual scale is a little larger than that but not way beyond that.

But totally my opinion.

I have funds totaling around 20k for a down payment (100k home), however for my planned strategy I’d like to target homes at max 200k which should require a 40k down payment.