With that said our deal was: we would buy the property increase value (we have been able to increase rents and the commercial space wasn't rented at the time, we are about to rent that out) and then refinance, the thought was we could get the initial cash out after increasing the value of the property and repeat (sound familiar) - after which we would be 50/50 partners on the property.To my question - since this is a commercial property, would it make sense and is there value in converting this to a condo, where we could get more favorable terms on the residential units (30-year mortgages and 20% DP) versus the terms we have right now?

SDIRA qualified plans increase earnings for many by 50%.

The BP one really only works for single family as it doesn't take into account rent increases. 

I am curious how to go about building a cheap home on the lot to add to my portfolio and increase my monthly cash flow. 

I’m curious as to how many Proprty owners on the site have a long range Energy Mangment program in place for their buildings as are using them to increase their profits?

That ended up increasing my monthly mortgage payment higher than $2000 (currently I am paying $1400) which increased my DTI significantly.  

That's a 1.8 percent increase.

Two months ago, he suggested that I buy a lawnmower for the tenant to do his own lawn work so I don't need to hire lawn service so I did and I agreed not to increase his rent as a result of that.

With increased security checks and immigration issues in the United States, what do I need to tell the border officers when I cross the border (by car)? 

https://www.har.com/content/newsroom/Houston Real Estate Highlights in June Single-family home sales rose 1.8 percent year-over-year, with 8,518 units sold, the largest one-month sales volume of all time;Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes declined from 50 to 48 days;Total property sales reached record levels, rising 1.7 percent, with 10,115 units sold – the first time that number has broken the 10-thousand mark;Total dollar volume increased 6.6 percent to slightly more than $3 billion;The single-family home median price rose 2.6 percent to $245,000, reaching an all-time high;The single-family home average price increased 4.3 percent to a record high of $316,463;Single-family homes months of inventory was at a 4.1-months supply, the highest level since last August and equal to the national inventory level;Townhome/condominium sales rose 4.9 percent, with the average price down 1.7 percent to $211,050 and the median price down 4.1 percent to $163,000;Leases of single-family homes climbed 4.7 percent with the average rent up 3.9 percent to $1,877;Volume of townhome/condominium leases fell 4.2 percent with the average rent up 6.7 percent to $1,662.