After living in the property for a full year, we have come to terms and accepted that this is not our ideal location.

I check to see how the dogs behave with people, ideally also with children, with dogs, and with cats.  

We had an accounting system once that necessitated doing this - not ideal, but it keeps the assets and liabilities straight and AP is just an accrual until you pay the bill.

Ideally would be purchasing some land out there & using our building background to do something unique. 

Because now we eliminated the foot-print of autos.

Home 1 is ideal for a fix-and-flip loan to fund the remaining $90K, which I can help you evaluate options.

My ideal location would currently actually be Augusta, GA because I really want to start somewhere with a very low crime rate. 

DSCR = rent/PITI and you want that number above 1, and ideally above 1.15.   

Once you've thought a bit about what your ideal wholistic investment portfolio looks like, if you decide that you want some kind of more active real estate investing in the mix, I cannot recommend more getting Start with Strategy by Dave Meyer and the accompanying workbook The Strategy Planner.

A HELOC offers flexibility and lower interest rates, which can be ideal if you’re looking for short-term financing with lower payments during construction.