Investors who don't know when to pivot or who don't have back-up plans usually lose.

One of my best friends has a lodge on a north facing slope with a super steep driveway and has had people stranded for multiple days due to the road situation in addition to losing power at the same time. 

If you do not sell it within 3 years after your 24 months of occupancy you lose any tax benefit. 

Cons: interest payments on amount used, market fluctuations (if things go south), losing slight bit of leverage, not quite as liquid (but easy availability right now)

Some wholesalers may take advantage of a new investor and if you back out of the deal with one, you will likely lose your earnest money deposit, usually $5K.Because the FIRST investment deal is so crucial (if it goes well you will most definitely continue your REI journey, if it goes badly you may never want to buy another investment property) I suggest that you first spend a good amount of time (3-6 months or even longer) to educate yourself on how to become a successful real estate investor in the particular niche (house hack, BRRRR, single family, multi-family, wholesale, flip…) that you will pursue. 

The sheer majority of your mailers go to undeliverable addresses (and you need to skip trace them) and/or they throw your mailers away just like I don't bother reading domino's pizza span mailers telling me that if I get a large pizza I get 5 pounds of anchovies for free.Secondly, just like texts and calling, people also get a TON of mailers sent to them, so again DMM does NOT stand you out.That said, ALL the methods shown here are bad.Do you all understand how many phone calls I get from people that say "Hey I got your card in the mail, how doe sit work?".

If I might lose my job soon, would it be smart to lock in at least a line of credit before I won't be able to qualify anymore?

Sometimes the high cash flow areas are also places with low incomes and not a strong tenant base which can create other problems and costs and in the end still lose money and no appreciation.

If you hold it for at least 10 years, you would probably not lose money.

Cash is great to have on hand, but remember that cash is always losing value when sitting in a bank or under a mattress (and this loss is accelerating).