The idea has come to mind to rent it out and continue on down the road looking for a better buy.

You have something most do not have.As for saving for investing the best option is to adjust your life style. 

I’m wanting a modern style, not standard modular/standard home looking. 

I would love a simple list like this of other options in case this doesn't pan out, or if I want to continue the same process.

That said, the projection still looks sustainable as foreign cash investors continue to value this area; add to that new investors from northern states with high tax burdens, and this continues to be a great real estate market. 

One such avenue, and my best tip is to go to meet ups, learn what they have to offer and then continuously build your network, because  by the end of the day its all about working with people who you've met recently or someone who you've known for a while. 

As mentioned that steel pipe builds up scale and corrodes from inside and the diameter of the inside hole will continue to shrink over time.

we continue to diligently pay for our usage and fees.Yesterday our water gets shut off. 

Same thing if you "borrow" against your stocks and they lose value and/or rates continue to go up. 

This will definitely be a place that has a lot of remodeling work to put in with the hope (I'm confident) that the gentrification that is taking place here will continue.