IE if the ROI is 200% after 2 years and then gets allocated annually, boosting our credit and providing a modest income to 5 people.

You would likely kick yourself to the curb if you found out properties are selling for 35k all around you and you just paid 57K.

I started investing time in SEO for my organic results in google & yahoo but that path was time consuming and that industry can lead to many disingenuous methods to boost results.

I saw a lot of people who were looking at taking losses or just breaking even on their slow flips get saved by that rapid come up in prices that boosted your profits. 2.5 years process though, that would drive me nuts.

So kick bad habits to the curb and simply keep great communication with anyone trying to contact you!

I think I could have picked up an extra $1MM+ in RE in this last downturn if I would have boosted my knowledge and connections with BP earlier!

Our choices seem to be:1) Refinance to a 30 year mortgage at a higher interest rate (which might not be so bad since we have been paying down the mortgage heavily).2) Purchase a duplex (townhouse) and house hack, allowing us to boost our savings by drastically cutting monthly expenses, then selling our current house.3) Do nothing with our current house/mortgage and use the cash we have saved to buy an inexpensive multi-family (will still need financing).

Curb Appeal is another thing to consider.  

Hedges just look nicer... better curb appeal than a fence.

It is not unusual to see an entire block assessed at nearly the same amount with homes of various sizes, age and curb appeal.