Tenant laws can eat your lunch and I bet a paycheck they'll never get better.

I always liked the saying "you can't eat equity". 

Trying to steer clear of using 25% down (from HELOC) and then finding a 1st mortgage (I'd have two mortgages on the property then) as I feel it would eat pretty quickly into my cash flow, obviously.  

Also, keep in mind that a condo comes with HOA fees that can increase in the future, eating into some or possibly all of your cash flow.

You be looking to eat the equity out to invest in another deal.

Nobody eats for free!

There are several types of fall back positions that you can use in a pinch as well including - pocket listings, fractional 1031 compliant properties, and also the option of simply not completing the 1031 and eating the tax. 

Then he counts how many takeout meals he eats.

Condos are rarely good investments anyway; the HOA fees eat most of the profits. 

I was eating pb@j sandwiches everyday because in my mind I couldn’t dare do laminate I had to have granite, god for bid a tile was laid slightly crooked, I’d rip it all up.