I have had some tenant leave the house perfect and others I returned $7 and everything in between.

I want the equity, I want to pay my homes off, I've been a little nervous of using too much leverage especially when it comes from my PH.My current home is my first home, perfect rental, will cashflow $300 per month, (one of those rare deals in my area.

Half way through the year and everything is perfect and you have all kinds of money just sitting there doing nothing.  

After reading a lot about the REI industry I feel like this is this perfect fit for me.

A 1031 is a perfectly viable vehicle to move the equity into new properties, although you need to consider the transactional costs when making this decision.

Works perfect for my needs, but others maybe not.

If someone tells you there is a perfect investment with a guaranteed return and no downside you need to run very fast from that person. 

I want to be owner occupied as well to make things as easy as possible so the FHA sounds perfect.

A release of lien will be sent by the lien holder, they have a statutory time requirement to do so, the release is usually sent to the borrower on the note, they will need to take it to the Recorder of Deeds and pay the filing fees to have it filed, at which time the release is perfected and clears the lien.

Chris,Being nervous is perfectly normal when you have so much money on the line.