Other Suggestions: Are there alternative strategies I haven’t thought of that would allow us to move legally and responsibly under the current circumstances?

I will check those area out.I did lose the novelty on Airbnb’s after also checking out Myrtle beach as a suggestion and went straight to looking at apartment buildings.maybe I’ll come back full circle in the future.

HI @Jacob KazmierskiI would suggest saving a certian % you fee comfortable with and then put the rest into a high yield savings account.

Suggest you find on your own and have a licensed realtor to represent you. 

I would potnetially even suggest they pay a big more than value if they are getting that good of a payment/rate.

Any suggestions will be helpful.

I'd suggest avoiding co-ops if you want the option to rent it out later.

I stopped paying the 1%+ and my principal finally started to decrease, significantly.My suggestion is that you ask brokers for recommendations that are in the area where you are purchasing your property and keep calling banks and save thousands of dollars you can use to invest for your next purchase.Two things:  Your broker wasn't getting rich on a 1% commission and the 1% you paid to your broker didn't keep your principal from decreasing; it was probably the cash out he got you (and at a higher LTV than the bank would lend you I might add).Banks and brokers each have a place in the lending arena.Stephanie 

Stanley - I would suggest that you go have 3-5 conversations with lenders and understand how much they are willing to lend to you given your financial situation.

If you don’t need cash flow in the near term, my suggestion is to use depreciation to defer taxable gains.