Hopefully you already worked this out.Aside from HML, there's also an option to do a live-in-flip, where you live in the house for a year and renovate it slowly.

That's what the cash runway is for - to cover your living expenses until you start making money. 

For scaling your portfolio, consider house hacking another multi-family property to minimize living expenses while building equity.

I know becoming a part time agent is one way, but where we live in south Florida seems to be overfilled with agents and I don't think its a great fit for us right now. 

If you are willing to live in urban areas you may want to talk to a local bank in your market and see if they have any incentives or grant loans for certain areas.  

We live up in Shasta lake.

Our lot is fenced in and we cannot see where he lives but close enough to be of concern, but we want to stay in the same town until the kids are finished school.So, my question is this, would it make sense to rent our home (roughly $2300-2500/mo. as per real-estate agent claims), with the stipulation that the garage is used for my business AND buy a home nearby?

We paid off our primary home last year and have been slowly getting the courage to jump into the investing market where we live in the Pacific Northwest.

I’ve fixed leaks, change toilets and still keep going up.I’m at appoint now when I moved out, I thought I’d be making money because while I lived there  I’d be going even.

And you probably need money for living expenses.