This was happening faster than I realized, because I had a more working capital than normal due to some refinances as well as a few sales.

But once its sold, its certainly not making you any more money.You'll get a more favorable rate by doing a reduced leverage refinance, but almost every lender will put some kind of a prepayment penalty on there (usually ranging 3-5 years), so you won't be able to really "pull" from the equity consistently without incurring some financial implications, so it really does depend on what you are looking to do next.

If you trade into a more valuable property, as you did here, the increase in value is added to your old basis.  

The IRS is taking a more conservative approach and you want to ensure you have all your ducks in a row + a team behind you to back you up if something comes into question.

I also never looked at it as a way of quitting my job; to me, I think it would be more productive to just find a more profitable way to make a living that you enjoyed. 

This year, I am finally looking to change that and become a more active investor. 

If you can narrow down the ZIP code of your Wilmington property then I can give you a more specific performance comparison.

Even with the current market inventory is moving since it is a more affluent market used for building your equities and long term wealth. 

I don't plan on selling unless a more favorable investment opportunity arises.

What is also very common is to charge a more aggressive security deposit or do a regular security deposit plus a monthly Security deposit alternative on top of rent to ensure you are properly Collateralized.