However, chances of making a mistake or overlooking an opportunity to save are higher when it comes to rentals.The dilemma is whether it's worth paying a professional in this case.

I take the approach of the investor pays me a fixed fee to learn this on their own so they never have to pay me again if they don't want to.

We’ll pay to get it fixed that’s not the problem.

Quote from @Ricardo Lemus: For a newer investor, a good investment is a property that pays for all expenses with some cash left over.

If I can pay it off in a 7 years I’m fine.

If you want to keep it, then would you refinance that new build to pay back the HELOC? 

Ok, that could be as minimal as literally hours per year, like <10 per property.

Quote from @JooYung Choi: You could consider going for a STR in a vacation market that will give you way more cash flow to pay off the HELOC quicker.

In 2022 the rents increased 12.1% year over year which was the 3rd highest in the entire country per https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/02/14/cleveland-rent-prices.

It’s a newly renovated 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home, just one block from the ski slopes and four blocks from downtown.The current owner has been renting it out for $30,000 per month during the peak winter and summer seasons.