Property overview;3 bed/3 bath/3000 sq ft fully renovated house4 car garage that has a carriage house above that could be a ‘getting ready’/bridal suitePavilion with commercial kitchen, electricity, bar area Pond and grassy area for ceremoniesParking area for 100+ carsRustic barn that could be updated for additional event space. 13 acresI have experience running large scale, high end events and would like to take on an operational/boots on the ground role with this property.

It sounds counterintuitive, but if you spread your net and search criteria into multiple markets, I promise as a newer investor you'll be stuck in the analysis paralysis phase. 

You will most likely incur exploratory costs (money at risk).Maybe get control of the parcel(s) that unlocks it after searching for easements on them and finding none.If you find an easement then Bingo your unlocked.Control might be available via options.Pay attention to this upfront>>>Big parcel like this on the water my first thought in the states would be Phase I enviro. 

Hi Dylan,You could go to W2 work for a year for an industry biggie, such as Greystar or Pinnacle (market rate properties) in Texas, (or where you are at now), for a year as a leasing agent and (boots on the ground) learn how to lease units, as well as get an understanding of how to be a first class property manager Learn things such as, how to handle maintenance, reports, people skills, evictions, cash flows, unit turns, problem residents, borderline qualifiers, flag flyers, parking disputes, physical confrontations, arguments, personal safety, etc....That would chunk out your 1st year requirement as well as put some money in your pocket while doing it.And if the economy nose dives, ride it out on the W2.Just my 2 cents.

It's commonly done where I am on commercial parcels that have multiple tenants on ground leases, the reason being to create their own tax bill for payment.

We've worked this out in phases.

Simply, it was an amazing investment that taught me a lot about the investment game from the ground up!

Anyway I have about $135k available on my heloc. sale price on the duplex is $279,000, so 20% is about $56k. the house is perfectly livable as-is, but at $60/sqft and properties on the block selling for $140/sqft i think there is room for some forced appreciation. the building is currently a three-floor duplex townhouse, one unit is the ground floor and unit two is the top two floors. all floors are basically the same floor plan. the second floor has a kitchen/laundry stacked above the first floor kitchen/laundry. on the third floor, the room is in the same place and empty, but utilities (water gas electric) are already run and in place for adding a third kitchen/laundry, so conversion to triplex would be simple as installing cabinets and appliances and building an exterior staircase up to the second floor rear deck. the three 2bed/1bath units would rent for $1000-$1200 a month each, conservatively. we would have to find somewhere else to live for that to happen, but that is our 1-3 year goal anyway. would it be better to make the bank loan smaller with a bigger down payment from the HELOC?

Lots of photos of the shoddy workmanship, failure to get proper paperwork and a lien in excess of amount owed seems like good grounds for him having to 'splain himself.

We don’t do a thorough inspection, but he will bring a wire tester to check the wiring to see if it’s grounded and he looks for defects I might miss.