We will also birddog the best opportunities on the contracting side so i figure we can boost out hourly rate up to at least $100/hr (from 80), and jump from the build to contract jobs to take advantage (we have our own heavy equipment and dump truck).

There are commercial mortgages that are written so they have heavy penalties for early payoff but they are assumable.  

The Lead does all the heavy lifting and they get a portion of the profits for their efforts.So, what must a passive investor do? 

Maybe in even self manage if to save that cost if your very close by, I'm talking 30 minute drive.This is not going to happen over night, I bought my first house in 2006 and 18 years later I still have not completely replaced my 9-5 income.  

This forced appreciation with a heavy value-add should be great with a long term buy & hold play.2) Cash out refi & purchase a vacation home via a 2nd home loan. 

Contrary to popular opinion, I don't see us going back to yesterday's rate environment, and I'm not anticipating being able to obtain investment property financing at sub 6% at any time in the near future without heavy buydowns. 5-7% is the historical norm for mortgage rates - it's not like 7% for an investment property is outrageous or shocking, and this is the ballpark I use to underwrite my deals. 

Over the years the side toward the house has slumped toward the house and during very heavy rains can cause seepage into the basement. 

Heavy emphasis on caveat emptor here, do plenty of diligence. 

When people refer to the Federal Reserve “setting rates,” they mean the effective federal funds rate or the rate at which banks charge other institutions on an overnight basis.

Multiple, billion dollar companies are investing heavy in our area, such as Intel, Google, and Amazon.