One can do well with low price high risk but max leverage and thinking our going to sit in your barcolounger while you let your tenants pay for your retirement is not reality unless you live there and work it basically daily.. 

FSBO is very possible in hot markets.. if you already have buyers lined up.. in markets that are not hot your going to get deluged by investors looking to low ball..

There are a couple opportunities thats on MLS currently, and I am crunching through my math and it seems to work out well (positive cash flow, decent cap rate).Some key assumptions I hope still holds true today:  low vacancy rate in general. ~1000-1200/month for a room in a single family house / duplex. 

Annual taxes are low.

My thought is to use a HELOC for the down payment on a new property (20% down), then once I acquire it, do a cash-out refinance to pay off the HELOC while keeping my original low rate intact.

If you plan to keep your current home as a rental, a home equity loan or HELOC could help fund your new home’s remodel while keeping your low mortgage rate.

The thing that would deter me from this location is a background rate of appreciation of 3.12% and low school ratings.

Your primary has an incredibly low interest rate, and your rental (I hope) is getting positive CF, which means your tenant is paying it off for you. 

I put roughly 20% down on a $200k home, and am curious what steps I could take to possibly turn my original investment into a large portfolio within the next 10 years, when we're currently "low on liquid funds" after finishing up a wedding.... 

This gives a better snapshot of market trends than averages, which can be skewed by high or low sales.November: $484,995December: $484,500January: $491,995 How long would it take for my home to sell?