If you have a $100k house and do $$30k of improvements, that doesn't necessarily mean the house is now worth $130k.Many traditional homeowners spend money on their house, but add less value than the cost of improvements (e.g. adding a sauna, building a pool,...)

Traditional accounting would say "an asset", but a thoughtful investor would say "a liability unless it generates income".

I think the best you can hope for is breaking even on a retail house with a traditional mortgage. 

You probably see mud and roots.

Still would be interested one day, but at current, focusing investing in other "traditional" methods.

If water or moisture begins to leak in through the roof it can reek havoc on the plaster inside.Lesson 2: If there are no cellar doors on the entryway into the basement or some other form of a barrier to prevent rainwater from coming in through the entryway then get new doors or at least a slab of plywood over the entryway to prevent water and mud from entering your basement.Lesson 3: Call at least 1 week ahead of time for ordering materials.

Keep the 4plex (don't slaughter your cow, milk it), and pull equity out via a traditional refinance, or (preferably) a HELOC.

I am writing as a) an attorney who represents both private lenders and borrowers (both traditional and self-directed IRA borrowers/lenders) and "regular" lenders (e.g., banks), b) a partner in a RE investment private lending company and, c) a RE investor for many years.I have given numerous presentations on private lending to local (Phila-area) RE investment groups over the past 10 years and I am always amazed at how loose private lenders will be with tens of thousands--or more often, over $100,000-- of their hard-earned money.  

While I think a good number of companies will relax their work from home policies, and newer companies (start-ups, small businesses, etc.) will re-think the traditional 9-5 structure, I don’t think the traditional 9-5 way of doing things will disappear anytime soon.

I've got to start from scratch with a four-plex so could be interested in short-term rental or traditional renters.