If your brother doesn't help with co-signing, I would suggest purchasing your own property.

Yard signs/flyers?

The contract signed for the property was a 90 day cosmetic rehab with some distributions paid and now I am getting no phone calls.  

The fact that you’re now considering the next steps with equity is a sign that you're ready to level up, but it's also crucial to be strategic about it.In terms of pulling out $500,000 of equity for new investments, there are a couple of key factors to weigh.

Signing up is completely free and non-binding.

You sign it saying you understand and believe what is reported to be correct.

So, $5k/$20k = 25% return on your investment.This is a very simple example that ignores the rental income vs any mortgage payment (taxes & insurance, etc. would be the same in both examples).To increase cashflow, you would also want to take the lower payment of a 30-year mortgage vs 15-year.Regarding the purchase:1) Require the seller to have tenants sign a MTM lease or vacate before closing.

They signed a three year lease, and occupy the house of their dreams. 

If you refinance it as your primary residence, then yes, you will be signing a new Mortgage at closing that says you intend to occupy for 12 months, essentially resetting your clock to another 12 months.But here's the huge kicker.

Can we discuss the option of 10% down and how it would work to get a lease agreement signed and the details on what I need to do?