I would not trust that putting in the time would lead to good results based on what I get from human nature. 

I am expecting a 25%-50% premium on return over the long term from RE to compensate for the amount of human capital that it requires compared to equities.

Habitat for Humanity's ReStores have building products, and a lot of times have used or even brand new windows for very low prices.

I did this by volunteering with habitat for humanity.

It's bound to happen because we're human, and he's OK with that.

Yes, I drafted the notes for a Habitat For Humanity affiliate at zero interest and called the IRS, getting the "oh no, we won't do that to them" exception.

If you really want to get the cheapest materials, you should shop at the Habitat for Humanity stores where you can find good materials for bargain basement prices.

But I was afraid of not getting top dollar and being able to sell quickly in this market, their were 10 or more houses up for sale around me all the time, most had been up for 3 to 4 mo.I was not planning on removing the tile floor, but after removing the walls , we had a few extra tile but ended up being 3 tile short, this required removing all the tile floor and that I wasn’t planning on doing, so more time and money.Where I saved was using habitat for humanity as much as possible, buying paint (5 gal $40 , paint brushes ($2 , rollers $1) etc, the paint by the way was Sherman Williams just relabeled.

I considered my actions to be very honorable and way up and above what any other rational person would have considered to be considerate/human.   

Renting as a social institution has been around since the beginning of human history.