At the same time, demand has been steadily increasing and existing buildings are continuing to age and become functionally obsolete.2.

What if your kids hoped you picked Compton, Detroit, Compton, or a nice area like Beverly Hills where CoC returns may be as little as 2%.Location is a function of the local market economics and fundamentals, not proximity to you. 

We went on vacation that June and I told her that when we got back we would have a functional bathroom and a semi functional kitchen.  

This is not a function of them simply signing a guarantee document with no deep underwriting.  

I'm not sure how Florida costs translate to Austin, but we recently looked at building some three story multifamily and estimates added about $10 per foot on top of single story construction costs.Going four stories here would almost certainly require a robust fire sprinkler system which is comically expensive.

When I first meet her she starts complaining about the cabinets been to outdated and ugly I tell her they are old but they are functional.

I suggest using the "Search the Site" function and exploring previous BP wisdom. 

@Brandon Turner Dang can someone please mention Brandon, my mention function only works if someone has already posted in a thread I'm posting in.  

I have seen some absolutely amazing 300-350 sf apartments in places such as New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo which have the functionality of apartments that are 700 - 900 sf. 

Took about 3 months and we got the price we wanted/even a little more than what realtors we had come by said we could without the ridiculous  7% commission - we didn't get the traffic in terms of serious showings that I thought we would have but I like their search function better than the other FSBO sites (you can search easily by school district) and their pictures were pretty good.