You mentioned buying a fixer upper with your HELOC and now are talking about a 20% down payment.

Prohibiting guests from using local lakes is crazy talk to me.

I talk to person after person in local RIEAs.

Wholesalers dont get referrals generally they are only as good as the last seller they talked into selling under market. 

If you talk to appraisers, we have another 20-30% to go.

Separate HVAC systems are a good idea too—makes things easier for tenants and utility billing.I’d also recommend talking to a contractor or local utility company about what’s needed for separate power meters and mailboxes.

Quote from @Zach Engen: The federal savings bank does 5% down on vacation homes, talk to Jason Wray over there.Email? 

Builder’s risk insurance isn’t something that gets talked about enough, and your experience really highlights why it’s so critical.

If you are talking about NYC investing, that's a different setup, not as streamlined as Westchester.

I read an article in Forbes that talked about how certain areas can transform quickly if the fundamentals line up.