Keep your growth slow & steady to be able to survive any inevitable challenges:)Some advice would be to NOT spread yourself over too many geographic areas.

The house has survived many hurricanes with little damage, but the insurance company said they would not renew coverage without a windstorm exclusion. 

Hi Chase,It's ultimately a matter of leverage and risk tolerance, but if you only plan on doing one project at a time for the time being, using cash is probably the safest option.

Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner.

Sometimes I think we get caught up on which market is good/not good but we forget that ultimately it doesn't matter how good the market is if you're doing business with people who are not good at what they do. 

But which reno loan you use ultimately depends on your financial profile.

Purchase price: $830,000 Cash invested: $225,000 The invested gain from the previous sale was utilized to upgrade, leveraging an ideal location for long-term appreciation, ultimately ensuring income during retirement.

Ultimately, legal protection by putting your duplex into an LLC has always been something that has been touted by attorneys, but most investors I have worked with have not gone that route.

Then tell the agent to run comps for ARV based on updates you do.And you also said you can't afford to lose $20-30k, the most seasoned flippers/investors lose money all the time, and ultimately that is part of your education costs, hopefully you don't make any costly mistakes, but you have to run your numbers well enough to make sure there is some 'ooops' fund to help shield you from that.As for comps, typically, appraisers want them to be in the same neighborhood, within 15% same square footage, same # beds/baths and age.

Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner.