Having owned property in rockford its not a great appreciation area so getting a HELOC will probably take 5-10 years based on loan pay down and maybe some slight appreciation.

That's how I discovered PB a few years ago.We've owned our own home since I believe June of 2021 in central NJ (not sure how much equity we have in it).

Looks like a lot of your own capital into the deal, but you learn more from being in the game.

I have purchased one duplex using my own money and am looking to scale but wanting to leverage OPM or low or zero downpayment funding options. 

I set up four LLCs on my own.

Comparing this to oil or timber rights is comparing apples to hand grenades. 

When my youngest went to school, I changed my license status to Active, and have learned and enjoyed helping people buy/sell/invest for around 7 years now.Everyone's journey is different....you might one day no longer be a firefighter...you might move to another state....you might want to buy a house one day and having a real estate license could save you some money. 

It’s still relatively affordable compared to bigger cities, has strong rental demand, and no state income tax, which is always a plus.

The title search would likely happen simultaneously to your own due diligence and the lender's due diligence so it wouldn't really be separate steps.

Being boots on the ground out here, seeing the state of some of the homes here both on and off the market and knowing the price of housing in the area, I am confident that I could be successful in flipping homes here.