The conservative nature of retirement accounts serves a purpose – providing a stable foundation for your future.Instead, I would:1.

Approach sellers who might be open to owner financing – especially in a small town where personal connections and negotiations can go a long way.Short-Term Rentals (STR): Given the touristy nature of your area, an STR could yield higher returns than a long-term rental (LTR).

But, creating these unique properties is what she loves to do, and she has a natural eye for design.  

I want to make sure this buyer puts down some earnest money to have some skin in the game an not back out and leave the deal in jeopardy.  

Most clients don't want to pay that way though because the nature of the beast is at the end of the day they most likely are ending up paying for nothing.

They say invest when theres blood in the streets but this means we are at the mercy of mother nature. 

I would just say the biggest red flag here is "anything sounding too good to be true" - whether thats a hard money interest rate well below market, or 100% "no skin in the game" financing, etc. - those are the biggest red flags here IMO

I have partner 50/50 with new flippers, but they put half the money into acquiring the house and repairs, and I pay the other half but I use my crew to do the flip. the other person needs to have skin in the property otherwise, I just pay them a wholesaling fee.I recommend starting by using a hard money lender, as they will take risks when someone is new, and they won't lend you the money unless they feel confident the deal is good. so you are confident you can be successful.you may pay some hight interest rates, and points, but at least you know you may make money at the end 

We focus on nature areas that draw tourists in, so we haven't seen any major changes from STR to LTR.

If you know that it was personal but deduct it as business - it IS... pick your favorite word:- cheating- stealing- theft- fraudJust because it's unlikely to get caught does not change its nature.