@Gino Barbaro True in all aspects of this business and in life.

They also are big into the electrical and plumbing aspect so good to work on those first.

I think new construction takes a vast amount of knowledge on a multitude of different aspects compared to rehabbing-depending on your area and market and what you're building.  

I will discuss just 1 aspect - the opportunity. 

I can see a law like this coming into place but the lawmakers are not considering every aspect of how the law will effect the community if they apply it to every one.If a 25% flipping tax applies in every situation then dilapidated houses are going to stay that way with no one that is motivated to renovate them.

One of the aspects that probably contributed to the triples failure is that they are a lot heavier with 3 panes of glass and I suspect that the mechanisms are the same as the 2 paned mechanics and not beefed up for the extra weight.Some earlier replacement windows were aluminum but today most are vinyl. 

Real estate will require more of your time from a management standpoint but it can possibly accelerate your wealth building through the use of leverage.Pick up a copy of The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley if you haven't read it already - he talks about the wealth building aspects of a sample of decamillionaires and most didn't build their fortune through publicly traded stocks but rather through their own companies (including real estate).Best wishes!

I suggest you learn more about real estate and seriously look at all aspects of the deal before signing.

The Realtors are there to assist with the complicated paperwork aspect and 'proper' negotiations.

As others have mentioned, if you think about all the aspects, especially the fact that your wife wants a free and clear primary resident, the answer could be different.