@Yixue Zhao I agree that the “avoid old homes” thing is an outside the Northeast mentality.

Did you miss the important questions or fail to prioritize?      

This is just an example of how I would mentally walk through this process.

A second home is a bank if you have an “investors” mentality and the right capital partner behind you for leverage.

Value can be found in all of them but it generally requires a boots on the ground mentality or good contacts passing deals along.   

If you know your investments well enough, the 'what ifs' should already be handled mentally. 

You must embrace a investors mentality to achieving your financial goals.

If you're expecting to be handheld directly by Pace through every step and have a tailor made program specifically for your needs without having to put in any mental labor yourself - this isn't it.

Sure, some investors make sizable returns on land and other non-cash flowing real estate, but they also bear much higher risk in doing so.That said, for investments in my Solo 401K, appreciation (i.e. risk-adjusted IRR) is my primary investment objective, while I prioritize cash-on-cash returns in my non-retirement investments.

By prioritizing methods that draw motivated sellers directly to you, you'll see the best results.