There's a lot to this and illinois will not approve you without these things in place, as well as some others.Good luck.

Hi John,this is great to hear.

If you want to be active, you will get a lot of good advice on this Forum about what market to invest in and what type of active property. 

When we moved, we turned it into a rental, hoping this would be the start of our real estate journey—something we’d like to continue once my husband retires.Some key details:My husband is active duty and will retire in 3 years.We have one final move coming up this summer to Raleigh, NC.Our current debts are crippling us—the high interest makes it tough to stay afloat every month.The plan me and my husband are thinking bout:Sell the rental property.Use the proceeds to pay off all our debts, set aside emergency funds and a down payment for our next home.Free up $1,500/month from debt payments, and that also can stash in a high-yield savings account.Regain full VA loan entitlement, allowing us to purchase a multifamily home and use the house hacking strategy for up coming move.Avoid capital gains tax, since April marks five years of ownership, and the tenant’s lease ends in May.This wasn’t our original plan, and we hate the idea of using our equity to pay off debt.

I think about this often, its really just running the numbers - if you borrow 100k at an 8% interest rate, will the investment get you more than an 8% return?

Feel free to DM me if you're interested. 

Not debating, just interested in hearing your take.

As a side note, and maybe others will recommend this as well, obtain your real estate license instead if you are interested in pursuing sales full-time.

@Allison ParkTwo pro tips to share.1.

And it's very pertinent to today's environment because it doesn't look like interest rates will be coming down much, if at all this year.