Hope life and biz is going well for you.  

We are planning a move to be closer to family and are looking at whether to rent or buy given the current market.

All those other areas you mentioned are expensive as well.

Certainly replacing a furnace and/or a water heater would require a permit as well as running a new or replacing a duct run.

The next one is more pricy but we plan on staying in it 7 to 10 years until we buy our dream land to build. 

I use QBO for my portfolios as well (been investing since early 2019).As long as QBO is set up correctly by someone or a firm that understands what's needed for an REI business it works great (better than the REI-specific software in my opinion).I'm happy to discuss in more detail if you'd like.Here to help!

I realize I'll need to look at zoning, put together a site plan, etc. to know exactly what's possible in terms of how many units can fit on the site.

@Greg DevlinIf you go the passive investment route, you may check out this website that has a database of Opportunity Funds:https://opportunitydb.com/funds/If you do your own project, just make sure you have proper advice and planning before you make any purchase or investment.

Worked really well and it didn't cost me anything.

This experience reinforced the need for meticulous planning and adaptability in renovation projects to ensure profitability, even when facing unforeseen challenges.