Hi Everyone, I am new to real estate investing. I'm starting from ground zero, but am excited to start diving in because I want out of the rat race (Yes, I too am a Robert & Kim Kiyosaki fan...who isn't?). When I ...

Something you might take away from your experience is that, despite a hard loss, it appears you possess a natural interest and affinity for this business.  

@Eric Schroeder welcome to the beautiful world of BP!!

Two, the natural hard wood floors are protected so if I decide to sell the property in five years, I can just take up the vinyl easily and reveal the hardwood floors for the actual sale.

Naturally we retrofit the vacant units first. 

Therein lies the beauty of real estate...If you invested in stocks, bonds, or just about anything else, your $55k would get you...well, $55k worth of stocks and bonds or whatever. 

Also, by the nature of the cost, you might be hard pressed to find someone who has used all three?

We lived in Manheim Park for 10 years and while our street was an oasis of beauty and diversity, what we continuously heard was an up & coming neighborhood, never quite hit the mark while we were there (2000-2010).

A swimming pool with depth greater than 2.5 feet Any business being run out of the home where clients, customers or other parties come to the home (i.e. massage business, daycare, beauty salon, et cetera.)

So naturally my bids are coming in much higher than I anticipated when I first got quotes, and I'm worried that building at peak prices will result in a potentially significant loss once building costs and corresponding home values in the neighborhood normalize.