https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1159104-overleveraging-net-worth-cash-flow-and-headache-factor You can read this long thread about what happens when you try to reach for cash flow. 

Is it worth pursuing moving the granite, having it cutdown to right size, and installed on the current cabinets? 

.: You can't dictate that the tenant insure their personal property, and you don't know how much their personal property is worth.

Since I only have one property, I'm not sure if it's worth it at this point. 

Is it worth it to invest in your own property in an expensive city like NYC?

Get creative if you need to.Finally, use a title company/closing attorney for all the paperwork, make sure they do a title search, (I would recommend paying the money for a Warranty Deed to ensure your protected as the buyer from any unknown liens) and then make sure the Promissory Note is secured, i.e. recorded against the property with the county recorders.

If I had to guess, the cost of building on the higher portion of the lot is most likely not worth the slight boost you might get in value from having a better view.

so most people will have to be as leveraged as possible to scale (at the beginning). as in, keep your LTV high and focus on buying 'as much' ($$) RE as possible. this is if you're doing a pretty run of the mill REI strategy like buy and hold. i came across an interesting guideline once: if you could sell today and net 7x+ your annual true net cashflow, you should cash-out/refi, or sell/1031. think of it this way: if your portfolio in a year is worth 1m market value, and you owe 600k, and have a lender that will do a portfolio loan at 80% ltv, you could cashout refi and get 200k to play with (minus closing costs). when you compare the now-lower cashflow from the existing portfolio (higher LTV & maybe different rate), to what you can do with 200k cash, THAT'S where it gets fun. maybe you lose 1k/mo in cashflow on the original portfolio (literally just made up a number, idk), but you can gain 2500/mo in cashflow with that 200k.. then doing the cashout/refi earned you a net increase in your monthly profit of 1500/mo, plus you're getting debt paydown and appreciation on "more" real estate, probably getting bigger tax benefits, etc.

Within the first 2 months of joining we did a deal, and the access to the contracts, confidence, and assistance is well worth the fee to join. 

You want to see that they have a great track record.