. * Turn garages into a 1BR loft-style apartment.

I love the original hardwood floors and I like living in a ranch style house. 

Often people think this will mean you're living in a 2/1 apartment, but I would look for attached townhome style quads (seen some under 125000 in my area that rent out each unit for 850-900 a month...do that cap rate!)

That being said, if you can have a more meaningful advice-oriented relationship, it can be helpful.One of the things I think we get wrong is in assuming there are mentors out there waiting for us to give them a call.

We'll have to add that, the style of teaching I guess you would call it, into the criteria as we're figuring this out.

Figure out the pros and cons of different styles of investing and start planning.

I'm very business oriented too, and for most of us, I don't think it's in our nature to give something away that we've worked for.  

What I would pay...give or take:Gut rehab - $40/sfNew construction - $65/sfNot saying you'll get those prices (could be higher or lower given you probably have different contractors, different design style, different definition of mid- to high-end finishes, different material suppliers, different negotiating skills, different level of experience, etc), but that's about what I expect...

@Michael Noto I have a side by side townhouse style duplex with finished lower levels that are 1500 square feet of living space each.

Sometimes you get into neighborhoods where this doesn't work so what you're left with is same square footage +/- 10%;  same style;  same category of house (SFR, multi family 1-4;  ...)