CMBS loans first gained popularity in the 1990s filling a void in traditional lending that resulted from the S&L crisis and the prolonged lending downturn that followed.

We have a mountain of student loan debt and have faced some challenges that would have crippled us without my vision and her ability to plan.

@Charles PeraltaBuilding new is an exciting challenge and to be honest can almost be easier and less time consuming than rehabs.  

Flipping through a self directed account comes with many challenges like the need to only manage the project indirectly which can be defined in a number of ways from my understanding.

While i understand that there are many challenges and hurdles to overcome when attempting to tackle a project like this, I also believe the rewards are well worth the work.

I just knew I had to stay on my horse, find out what the challenges were, establish that I was kind but firm, and handle whatever came along.What would I say to my then self now?

Because investing is now popular / trendy, and this property in particular will have higher demand, I'm willing to bet that it goes for well above list price.I applaud your thinking and analysis though. 

Unfortunately for me, I have a wife and 2 kids so that option is a little more challenging for me.

Also, in spite of having construction knowledge, renovating an 80 year old house presented some challenges that kicked my backside.

But the work is not challenging and my fellow co-workers have instructed me to slow down on numerous occasion.