Respectable Hard money lenders like yourself (and others who posted in this thread) are helping us do that so its a win-win for everyone involved.

I spent a lot of time on BP reading about the exact areas of real estate I wanted to get involved in.

One check they clearly cashed, (I got the cleared check from the bank,) yet they wouldn't apply the payment until I provided proof they cashed my check.They recently insisted on communication only through certified mail, or get the lawyers involved.

The thought comes to mind of encumbering both apt buildings presents a juicy fruit to the bank as they get to encumber all properties involved with some sort of blanket loan.

After running this place for 8+ years, every little message of support still means a lot to me.Keep jumping in and getting involved -- it is well worth the time you spend!

They'd rather have a hand in choosing the tenant, and my management company doesn't charge the 50% of rent for placement so that's not the reason they want to be involved.

given the time involved in finding/buying/rehabbing (if applicable) a new place, I don't believe your idea of finding renters before buying would be plausible.

Some simply wrote checks and said there ya go, which actually made me nervous, but the fact they were seldom involved doesn't mean they could not have been if they wanted to be or showed up.

And I know relatively little about the construction process (which is in and of itself a reason not to get involved with building), so I'd have to hire an outside GC or custom builder to do the job.

Agreed.You would need to consider some form of retirement planning that involves pre-tax contributions.