The process is pretty straight forward and not complicated at all.

Here's why:Affordability: Your $180K-$200K budget works perfectly here, with plenty of single-family homes and duplexes in B or C+ neighborhoods.Cash Flow: Rent-to-price ratios are excellent, with many properties renting for $1,500-$2,000/month.Landlord-Friendly: Oklahoma has straightforward laws that make managing rentals easier.Economic Growth: Both cities have diverse, growing economies, fueling rental demand.Low Taxes: Property taxes and costs are some of the lowest in the country, boosting returns.OKC and Tulsa also have strong investor networks to help you build a boots-on-the-ground team.

Overall, the setup and funding process was extremely straight-forward and the customer service was great.  

She has a very straight forward approach in business.

And it is very straightforward to file these, so I would expect it to be well within the scope of any operator sophisticated enough to pull off an owner financed deal. 

I recommend setting up keyword alerts for each area as they are discussed in the forums daily with advertisements posted in the BiggerPockets marketplace hourly.One thing to note when looking at the individual markets, you can make or lose money in any market.

SEO optimization with targeted keywords can significantly boost visibility across these platforms.Strong photos and virtual tours tend to convert leads more effectively - tools like Asteroom or Sphere.app let you create these yourself.

The easiest and straight forward option would be, as you said, to sell the current residence, payoff the HELOC (or most of it) and then get back to saving with your jobs and the rental cashflow.

I mean, Texas is still a great state because of the amount of jobs, the pay that comes with those jobs, and the cost of housing here as opposed to other places around the country.However, that key word "affordable" actually has a definition to it - and that's 30% of the income shouldn't go towards housing. 

Also, are there any other cities around Columbus, Georgia, that you can add to the post to increase the keywords that might pop up for other investors in those areas?