I've managed to secure the loan for the new house without having to sell the old house first.

-Finding off-market deals and securing financing with limited capital.

If so, you can use the security deposits from both tenants to cover missed rent. 

Of course the rate is higher with 15% down, but it helps investors get that property secured with less out of pocket.Happy to help if there's anything you need.

Don't be suckered into buying cheap properties - unelss you know exactly what you are getting into.Here's some copy & paste advice that applies to just about any Midwest rental market:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

If you're interested in seeing how that all breaks down from an income and expense standpoint, I created this Sankey diagram to share with you:As for me, I'm planning to leave my w-2 job and take a little career break before deciding what's next for me. 

As I’m nearing retirement, I just invested a similar amount in first trust deeds secured by real estate at 9.75%.

This will help attract more business to the state, keep it coming! 

Private lenders or even creating a small syndicate with a group of investors might also be worth exploring, especially since you can point to your uncle’s track record and your own experience managing rentals as a selling point.If timing is tight, you could look into a bridge loan to secure the property while figuring out a more permanent solution.

I'd say start the process of securing your HELOC if you havn't done so and spend time analyzing deals and determining what type of investor you are looking to be.