The equity is actually what you are paying for the property.In this case let's look at the numbers that count,...the current numbers.You have about $500k or more in equity, which is buying you a property that's worth about $700k (I went with the lower PV. 

By accelerating your depreciation schedules, you reduce your taxable income which in turn increases your operating cash flow.

It's lower than 1.5%, sometimes I price deals out conventional & DSCR, DSCR beats conventional pricing a fair amount of the time.The only catch is the prepayment penalty on a DSCR loan.

I have focused my research on house hacking due to the lower upfront capital requirements with an FHA loan.

I prefer to stay further from the coast and hopefully further from major storm/flooding events (potentially lower insurance costs).  

Again you can buy more properties in lower asset class area, but it's less efficient.There are many threads about appreciation, so i won't repeat it here, but my guidance to you is to think through the difference between appreciation and inflation. 

That will get you looking at cash flow and end up in a lower rated area than you think.

But I get it in the lower value assets of the mid west and rust belt cities wholesalers dominate because they spend 100s of thousands in marketing for those type of assets..

I went to every one of the 65 hearings myself and got 61 properties lower and 4 remaining the same. 

You can have a lower sales price home built in 2005 that could give you more problems than a more expensive home built in the late 1800's.