@Matthew Drouin inspiring and very encouraging for people like me who is starting their journey in real estate!!

Reno:I'd actually encourage you to buy a rent property or house hack before you buy a single-family home. 

Start looking at deals amd attending webinar investment presentations.One final note - and this is critical - spreadsheets can be made to say whatever one wants them to say, a minor tweak there, a minor tweak here, and the return metrics can look vastly different.So I would encourage to look behind the numbers and not simply focus on the highest cash on cash or IRR add focus more on: 1.

I found this article encouraging for any one in the real estate investment game:  https://emcaplending.com/2021-...Though there are more details in the article, the following paragraph provides a glimpse at its general discussion:"While moving against the general economic trends in 2020, the housing market made great gains throughout the year.

Going through a mortgage broker is the best as they will be able to shop several loan options for you and present you the pros and cons of all.Yes, house hacking is great and I encourage this.

I appreciate the encouragement! 

LolaHi Lola,You might want to encourage the board to get 3 or 4 more bids for the block work.Perhaps get an architect (or an engineer) to help you write up a "Written Bid Request" for the (Needed) and (Optional) repair work.With a written bid request, you can be sure you are comparing apples to apples, and getting the required work done.Also, the Architect or Engineer may have a list of workmen to share with you that they have used successfully in the past on similar jobs.Good Luck! 

This sounds reasonable, but I would encourage to consider investing in a lower cost market. 

Here is where I want to encourage caution and patience.  

You will get one soon - THANKS for the reply, encouragement and things to look at.