I’d recommend waiting till you have a cushion of some sort depending on your comfort level before you take the plunge and buy the second deal.

Hello Friends,I own a 1982-built ground-level condo (one unit above, one below).

We also disallow Level 1 sex offenders to the extent we are legally allowed to.

But it's YOUR money, and Real Estate, to put it mildly, is a contact sport).Month 5: Deals & Network (15-18 hours/week)Submit first offersAttend 2-3 REI events monthlyBuild social media presenceKey Goal: First offer acceptedMonth 6: Scale & Automate (15-20 hours/week)Delegate initial tasksEstablish morning/evening routinesCreate follow-up systemsKey Goal: Sustainable weekly schedule🚫 Common Pitfalls to Avoid:Overcommitting earlyNeglecting W2 responsibilitiesSkipping system creationTaking on too many mentor calls✅ Success Markers:Consistent daily actionsGrowing networkClear systemsNo work conflictsSteady deal flowMaintained energy levels👉 Action Steps This Week:Audit your current scheduleBlock 2 hours dailyChoose your power hour (morning/evening)Set 30-day milestoneGeneral Comment:  obviously not everyone will follow these suggestions.  

I'm going to reiterate what's already been mentioned above, but I'm going to actually give you examples of why it's relevant to you to find a U.S. tax professional.1 - You're going to need to file U.S. taxes once you have property down here, there's federal filings, state filings, and sometimes local filings too2 - Tons of tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada that are easy to miss and can cost you a lot of money (important one with rentals - effectively connected income - if the professional you talk to doesn't know what this is, run away)3 - The amount of days you spend in the U.S. needs to be tracked and if you go over a threshold, all of your worldwide income could be taxable by the U.S.4 - Selling real property means up to 15% of your sales proceeds might not be available to you for years (FIRPTA)5 - Lots of nuance at the state and local levels, which both want to take as much money from you as possibleMain takeaway here is that you should find a U.S. based tax person.

Yes I would agree you do need some level of expertise/experience.

A HELOC or cash-out refinance is definitely worth exploring if you want to free up capital for more investments, but make sure it fits your goals and comfort level.

BPCON attracts investors from all experience levels, including folks looking for their first or second deal.

Depending on the actual age of the property, at least some level of deferred maintenance is not uncommon.

And you get feedback at a level high enough to determine how to proceed.