In a climate like this with high rates, probably better to use a Heloc so you keep the lower rate of your 1st lien.

Well, I wouldn’t go that far, people throw that word around too much these days but I would say they made a lot of promises that they haven’t kept and paint a very unrealistic picture with an extremely high pressure sales scheme that does a disservice to the vast majority of their students.

But lowest risk with conversely high returns might still be worthy to try. 

Thoughtful upgrades and efficient project management made this a successful venture, highlighting the strength of our partnership and commitment to delivering high-quality results.

Now that is a very high level example but the appreciation is not gone if that makes sense you will capture the ballpark same appreciation if the properties are comparable.  

Once you narrow it down, start with small jobs to test their reliability and quality before giving them bigger projects.Building a solid network takes time, but having dependable people on call is a lifesaver for your rentals.

Besides that, just wanted to chime in real quick - I'd highly check in with a CPA and I am no tax expert, so wanted to preference that.

There is a high concentration of those in Texas (about 2/3) but it is relatively similar in most of the markets we lend.

I am a complete rookie zero experience, zero properties and highly determined to get into multi-family investing.

Most often owners have too high of expectations for C/D neighborhoods.