Instead, the income from the property is used to qualify you.

This lets your HSA grow, and since qualified withdrawals are tax-free, putting more aggressive investments in an HSA can pay off in the long run (similar to the “put your risk in Roth” idea).4.Rollovers & Debit CardsMost brokerage HSAs come with a debit card, so spending isn’t too hard if you ever need to.

Under this rule, if you spend at least 100 hours on the property and no one else exceeds your time spent, you can qualify as materially participating.

@Hank Bank BRRRR is probably want you want to do.Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refi, Repeat.Before you go all in and either find out you don't like being a landlord or you make costly mistakes, start with just the next one.You'll have some challenges with tapping the equity in the townhouse:1) What loan amount can you qualify with your credit & income?

If you listed the property for rent, advertised it, or had it available for lease before December 31, 2024, it could qualify as a rental for 2024 tax purposes.

So more Roth for way less in taxable income incurred. doing this is easiest in a Solo 401k if you qualify but can also be done using a checkbook IRA as well. check out this post that @Dmitriy Fomichenko made explaining this concept.https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1223601-how-t... 

$1,500-$1,600 is about the going rate for a 2/2 in most average areas of BR, but I can see where some neighborhoods would get more.Another thing to think about - if the property is sitting vacant right now and you have ready and willing (and qualified) tenants, then the opportunity cost of waiting an extra month or two is $1,550/month.

You still need some money to cover part of the rehab until you get your first draw, and if you're a brand new investor you might not qualify for 100% LTC on your first deal, but if you can partner with someone with experience on their track record or can prove significant past contractor experience then we might go that high on your first deal. 

New construction properties can qualify for significant insurance discounts, but otherwise, I generally expect insurance in this area to run a little over 1% of the property’s value if it’s in decent condition.Feel free to DM me if you’d like a good insurance contact to shop around for a better rate.

Plus, if you aren't able to get approved with what you've got now in terms of savings, credit, etc. you can learn on what you need to qualify so you know what to be working towards.