They didn't extend loan maturities because they were looking out for borrowers--and the moment they feel the market is strong enough for them to liquidate the asset they will foreclose and/or force a sale to recover as much principal as they can. 

I feel I'm finally ready to spearhead my own project.

Once you feel you've built a strong team with your first property and have solid systems in place, I would then start buying more aggressively and taking on bigger projects.I suggest reading this BP article on the core 4.https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/core-four-real-estate-team

Purchased for $139,999 using a mix of cash and hard money, we revamped it with modern updates, including a new kitchen, flooring, and fresh paint.The property rented for three years, generating steady cash flow of $450/month.

I am pretty handy and have done plenty of restoration work myself and not afraid to put in some elbow grease. looking into real estate to get the wealth ball rolling but feel a little uneasy given the current state of the economy. what would you do in my shoes?! 

Feel free to reach out to see if we can assist. 

That is just the loan payment and doesn't include your insurance and taxes like a typical mortgage payment does. 

I would go a step further and say there is a Thought-Cancer in US Society today that people feel there not only entitled to affordability, but that it's focused to and for THERE "affordability".

Although I’ve been investing in real estate, both directly and indirectly for 45+ years, I still get a “queasy” feeling when an investment does not perform as expected.My “aha” moment occurs when we reach the point when, despite the investment problems, we’re able to still show a good/substantial profit at the end of our holding period.  

Good luck and feel free to reach out if you'd like to connect!