There are just too many slices of pie in REI that one of the big downfalls is being a jack of all trades and master of none.

I am currently a project manager on a year-long Electronic Medical Record implementation at a local hospital.My not-so-long-term plan is to stop trading time for money, and I have therefore started learning about various ways to build up passive income.

Blue Chips and the S&P500 companies have more cash on hand than ever, M&A activity is trough the roof, banks are well capitalized, P/E ratios are historically strong so again, why the 300 point swing today?  

Many of the guys on the fire department have trades outside of the job, and I utilize many of these guys as my subcontractors, and some as my personal employees.  

@Sandy UhlmannYes, the IRA can purchase a home, have it repaired, and resell the home at a profit.Do check with your IRA provider (and tax advisor) next week and ensure that you get a good explanation of the rules and exposure to UBTI taxation that such an activity can create.You or a disqualified party to the IRA may not do any work on the property.Flipping is a dealer activity viewed as a trade or business.  

IE very low value assets IE rentals in Urban cores that trade for the value of used auto's  ... so for sure I can see instances were agents that have a 10k listing are only doing the minimum you would go broke spending all your time on those deals as an agent.And the unlicensed wholesalers have pretty much taken up this niche of helping sellers out of these assets... as its really an unwanted product for most brokers.Thats whats great about this industry its diverse always changing and very much regionalized... what a lot of folks don't really comprehend though or are short sided on..

Remember, there are good inspectors and ones that couldn't hack it in the trade also.  

We actually loan like this as well, but have a process we like to follow.Jeff: without giving away any market or trade secrets, how are your borrowers finding props at 75% of ARV these days?  

Those are sub-markets.I can tell you about areas where there's a $50k swing between houses 1/2 block apart...with nearly identical floor plans, finishes, and condition...simply because they feed different elementary schools.  

If you buy 2 multi's with the money, you can trade them up for a small apartment complex after 3 years by reinvesting the cashflow, appreciation and equity paydown.