I would be okay with that in a house that I lived it too, as long as it is not to excess and to the sacrifice of my happiness in other areas of my life.

Use caution and avoid excessive heat on your hardwood floors which can be damaging.

My fear however, and the thing that prevents me from moving forward with it at this time, is that I have accumulated a lot of debt, and family responsibilities that I fear will prevent me from getting a loan for an investment property, and also not having an excess of available cashflow to be able to build up a down payment.

Really large projects generally fall under DRI reviews ( usually called direction of regional impact).

Definitely consider SJREIA We have in excess of 400 members and extend from South Jersey up to central NJ.

Get comps in the area and find the sales of small acreages and keep in mind that as you have excess land, that excess becomes less valuable in many cases and how the land can be used is an issue. 10 acres is a popular residential mini-farm plot, or is in many areas so you may have comp sales.

I work with several Landlords in my area (where the MLS is as dry as a bone) helping them to get their own deals.

May need to do a dry double close ?

I've talked it over with someone who has done mold remediation before, and he said that in most cases the dry wall is salvagable and would assume so in this instance as well, although he hasn't seen the home personally to confirm.

I have been wholesaling in this area for 4 years now and I can usually find a buyer before the ink is dry on the contract.