A single purchaseWhen you relax these, laboratory style variables, you find that tax timing is intensely important.

I know people build this in horizontally all the time, for style, so I would think that it is possible.

It looks like they probably cannot afford the rent because they had a squatter style room setup: all mattresses were on the floor with no box spring or bed frames, lack of dressers or basic furniture in bedrooms, no place for clothes/clothes were piled on the floors, no decoration besides computer printed B&W images taped to the walls.3. 

We are ok to holding off on our dream home and will work hard to get some investment properties in place first.... what would you advise us to do - buy a smaller 3 bdrm & 2 bath (we would like ranch style) and get another similar one to invest?

InsuranceGuess which one is the most important.....management style.

House was build back in the late 40's and needed to basically be gutted and redone on the inside as it was an old camp style house.

We’ve reasoned that if people continue to need to hunker down, we want to offer isolation in style.

Two entirely different styles, and two entirely different results. 

Look at your amenities and overall style as well as location and beds/baths/ ft/2.

If that's the case, you can't do any renovations until you have it professionally deleaded or it would be flagged for Unauthorized Deleading and you can get fined and the property would never be able to get a Lead Certificate, only a letter of Environmental Protection that states you did illegal work, got caught, then had to pay a professional to clean up the mess.