I do all of that and more expect for some of the bids a those don’t take long to get and I pretty much know what they are anyways since I do a lot of these.The risk with this is if somehow seller can’t deliver clear Title, then you are out these expenditures but that is rare.Not sure about your area, but here in Los Angeles, I can have all the plans completed and submit to B&S (building and safety) before being on Title but to actually get the project to RTI, I do need to show I am on Title or get notarized approval from seller to submit to City.I typically make my offers with closing dates of 10 Days but I love it when sellers need 30 or 60 Days to close as that saves me holding costs while I do all the plans and City submittal/clearances.

@Harjeet Bhatti Thank you for clearing this up. 

And I suppose since I am aiming towards opening an investment company rather than a real estate company, I should probably steer clear of the real estate license.

The prohibited transactions (the don'ts) are very clearly identified by the IRS here:https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-particip...So in most cases there is very clear line between the do's and don'ts.

If you take a personal loan from your 401k it would be making 5.75% return, but it you turn around and lend this money to some other investor who needs the money and can make 10-12% return, tax deferred, I think the latter is clearly more beneficial to your 401k and ultimately to you. 

Cleared 3 acres go for 100-125k around where I live.

The occupancy rates will increase some as some people book last minute but using occupancy at near start of month has some safety margin built in.What this snapshot does not make clear is whether there is significant variation by month.

I will just build up a cash E-fund and forget about pre-payments as they are not necessary if I'm not being irresponsible (which I'm free from thank goodness) and let time fix this, that is clearly the best option here.And no, I absolutely would not lend my best friend money in my situation. 

All the more awesome that you’re looking to leverage that success even more through REI.Very clear you have the drive this business necessitates.Feel free to reach out with any questions.

So, IF any repairs are required by FHA, you wouldn't be able to close on the property because your loan wouldn't fund without those conditions being cleared.So, your agent is telling you that a foreclosure property, likely to have repairs required by FHA would not be a good idea because there is no way to clear those conditions.On the flip side of what you are talking about, is the FHA 203K.