For a more pure IRR calc, you'd need to take the 2008 purchase at $1.75, add another $20k invested to remodel a bathroom in 2013, add another $750k investment in 2016 and then the sale at $3.9M in late 2020. 

This is pure harassment by the city of Chicago but it true.

Then you have the responses of seasoned investors--that's pure gold!

Because from all those possible hundreds of flavors of real estate, your letter implies (at least to me) that you are really only interested in one flavor out of all those potential options: the distressed seller with a rundown property who is motivated purely by numbers, where your goal is to help them in a way that can get you the lowest price possible, and then resell it at the highest price possible.

None of us are in this for pure joy.

There are a few suggested articles that pop up on the sidebar that are pure gold.

I'm not saying that most of my rehabs are less than that, but historically, many of the purely cosmetic rehabs is lower-cost areas have been in the $15-20K range. 

@Jaron Walling the example was purely hypothetical just to make the numbers a little clear and easier.

One lender has told me I can put down 10% on a multifamily that I am not living in (so pure investment) and interest rate is 4.5%.

I am constantly battling my personal checklist vs a purely investment driven checklist for my next property since I plan to live in it before making it a rental.