I will do some staging because I know I will regret it if other people tell me I lost opportunities by not making the effort to stage.

I'd be happy to take a lower return on a higher dollar amount in exchange for less work/effort/stress!

I think commercial is very doable in some of the other locations I've researched (for fun) before - like Texas.Lastly, the other issue I have with commercial is the management effort.

If you do not work in any type of environment where you deal with construction or development etc, it will take a lot of effort to learn the technical side of the business.

You will spend considerable time, effort and cost to bring the property into compliance.

I guess, the fact that I am often unappreciated for my efforts as a landlord, when I go above and beyond, got to my rational brain here.  

Hi Marci-Checkout: (3) Secrets Everyone Needs to know about using a 203k loan for more information on the 203k loan, loan process and how to build the right team for success.Good luck to you!

There simply is not enough in the contract to warrant much effort on their part.

I feel like I should keep my REI efforts secret from my employer considering I want to quit my job someday to do REI full time. 

It is absolutely possible to make money in real estate without using your credit and there are no and low money strategies that you can use to get started but with that being said you will not have consistent leads/deals/cash flow without paying for advertising/signs etc but it will only take you getting that first deal to fund your marketing efforts and your off to the races.