The term "Price Improvement" is a strategic choice, aiming to cast a positive light on what might otherwise be perceived as a negative development.

Since you already decided to go with Quickbooks (good choice by the way!).

Thank you thoughCompetitive might have been a poor choice of words at my end.

I’m in the process of speaking with other attorneys trying to get a sense if RLS is the right choice.

Choices= bad, horrible or complete nightmare (paraphrasing). 

Seeing as our house is pretty rural, our choices are limited.

Properties are pieces of a market.You're not doing anything wrong with your property analysis, you are doing wrong in your choice of markets.

Not enough information for anyone to determine what to do as this would be based on your financial situation, income, and personal choices along with not knowing anything about what you would build, what it is worth etc. 

You can exit your hard money loan to conventional with lower rates + assuming you have the sufficient income to qualify.

Again, a little more than linoleum, but last a lot longer, and depending on color choice, most scratches are hidden.But back to my original point, your tenants will be the primary driver of your success in real estate.