Jay, most of the "log" cabins in the Smokies are "log look", which gets the job done.

My best  success seems to come from tenants that go to a job where they work for a company.

Hey Rich,I'm only at 21 units (closing on another 4 next month), but I work a full-time job and also got my real estate license this year, so my plate's pretty full. 

The easiest and straight forward option would be, as you said, to sell the current residence, payoff the HELOC (or most of it) and then get back to saving with your jobs and the rental cashflow.

I am new to investing, but have been researching/dreaming of it for years. 

The important part of investing is the calculations of a deal, having capital, and a W2 job that will help you get loans.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Some do a great job, many do okay, some do a terrible job. 

Now we're seeing incredible population and job growth and major companies moving and developing here like Intel and Amazon - great macroeconomics and strong rental demand.

When choosing a location, focus on markets with job growth, population increases, and a diverse economy.