They said they will not take rent into consideration and declined me because they are using the mortgage of that new loan, my current mortgage and HELOC payment off of just my income now, which is dumb because of course I can’t qualify.  

Did you attend educational courses to enhance your real estate knowledge?

While Pace Morby seems to know his stuff, he puts out incredibly long videos and I didn't have time to sort through all that fluff & didn't want to pay 8k to be in his course. 

Unless, of course, you’re into character-building experiences.

These methods include: Detailed Engineering Cost ApproachDetailed Engineering Cost Estimate ApproachSurvey or Letter ApproachResidual Estimation ApproachSampling or Modeling ApproachExperience or “Rule of Thumb” ApproachIt’s important to understand the differences between the approaches including which one best fits your property and the reliability of each approach.DETAILED ENGINEERING COST APPROACHThis approach compiles the costs from construction and accounting reports to build a report.

But if your budget is tight or your home only needs minor updates, your real estate agent can help you think outside of the box by suggesting simple DIY staging tips to help your home look its best.Bottom LineStaging your house properly can make it much more attractive to buyers, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, and every home shines differently.

In one building the tenants accumulated so much junk over the course of their tenancy that I was forced to get a 40’ roll off dumpster to get it emptied for a sale.

But, I'd like to focus only on value-adding renovations (for rentals of course). 

Her husband is also a GC who can help build additional units as needed if you get something that can fit an ADU.

Just make sure the monthly costs—like the mortgage, taxes, and maintenance—fit comfortably into your budget.