As your revenue grows, the budget naturally grows with it.

If the core systems are solid, I’d lean toward sticking with option #1 and keeping the project within budget.

For a 3BR/2BA STR, I typically see budgets land between $15K–$25K depending on design goals.

probably not a property a random out of state investor would want to buy and plan on not spending anything on though, yes? 

The goal with this is for both us to go part time at our w2's and spend more time with each others and our two "growing too fast" little boys, then who knows maybe one day financial freedom.im open to any questions and any advice.

Quartz is fairly cheap, so you can get that done and increase the demand for the place with a smaller budget. 

Cash Flow Comes First — Not AppreciationA lot of investors get seduced by the “hot market” or “future appreciation,” but you don’t spend appreciation — you spend cash flow.When both houses rent for the same $1.8–1.9K……but one costs $340K and the other $386K + needed repairs…You’re already seeing your answer:✔ Peoria: Lower price + fewer repairs = stronger cash-on-cash✘ Gilbert: Higher price + renovation costs = weaker cash flowAppreciation is a bonus, not the foundation of a sustainable rental strategy. 2.

If you are doing performing loans, depending on your budget I would also consider private lending - you typically will find borrowers with higher credit scores when doing private lending (if you do it right).You can also do non performing loans (Which is what we do), but those are a completely different animal to performing.

It is like bringing your car into the dealership where they want you to spend all this crazy money on things that are not required

A good RE agent will have relationships with local contractors they can refer you to so you don't have to call random people then take a leap of faith that they are going to do good work on time and on budget.