And, if you’ve been in your house for a few years (or longer), there’s a good chance you’re sitting on a pile of equity — maybe even more than you realize.What Is Home Equity?

Also, as long as the house appraises, taking broker commission and using it against down payment and closing costs means lower cash requirements for me which increases my CoC returns.

You've probably heard of big Landlords losing property, but only because they were flagrantly violating Fair Housing, running a slum, or otherwise violating the law in an egregious manner.

I am self employed but want to build a spec home using the equity in my house as collateral.

The more information that you have out there the easier it is for people to find you, if you want them to find you.I almost everyday wear my "Rick Buys Houses" shirts with my phone number on it. 

Divorce - its easier if the house is in the divorce decree otherwise you need to play mediator between parties to come to an agreement. 

I only have 1 property under my belt and am currently house hacking my SFH.

Hi Randall-Congratulations on buying a rental property well back in 2020.I am sorry to hear the property is now cashflow negative $200 a month.Your question is should you sell or continue to keep it with the negative cashflow.Depends on your personal goals and if being negative $200 a month plus any unexpected repairs or vacancies is affordable to you, but if you can solve the negative cashflow by turning the property into a furnished mid-term rental, for example, your future self may thank you.To Your Success!

It ended up being the main water line to the house that was old/rusted/damaged.

A lot of our housing stock here has finished basements or in-law suites, so with something like that you can generate significant rental income for an inexpensive conversion.