I have a commitment to invest in rental properties, meet professionals  & eventually meet potential business partners!

In your scenario you'd have a potential tax event on that $200K difference.Here's a creative way to access most of that money tax free however. 

It's easier to scale with multifamily properties due to income potential and operations.

If your doing REI to it's full potential, you don't pay 100% of the purchase price up front in cash.

There are a few in my area that I keep an eye on to see how successful they might be and I’m always looking for properties with potential to be something grand.

I am not so much worried about this year but thinking about how easily I could sell a potential property in 10-20 years. 

What is the appreciation potential?

With the current mortgage rate constraints affecting how many buyers are willing to enter the market we are seeing a lot of borrowers have success with the BRRRR strategy with plans to sell in the next 3-5 years when interest rates go down.Researching potential LTR and STR rental amounts and seeing if holding for a few years is a viable option is a good analysis to do well. 

I completely agree with @Ashish Acharya's points about the cost-effectiveness of a HELOC and the potential credit implications if it’s secured by your primary residence.

City has so much potential.