I might try Rta s again in the future. 

We don't have kids (might in the future), my husband and I are young and healthy, have stable high-income full-time jobs, and just put in a lot of work to both properties so don't expect huge expenses in the near future.

I would recommend looking at a loan with a short prepayment penalty if looking to get cash out, that way you can refinance again if rates drop again in the near future. 

I want to look into the possibility of a future ADU there as well.

From then I knew real estate investing would be in my future.

I work full time at a decent job, but have quickly learned that I needed to make some changes in my families life by securing our financial future. 

One time I had a guest smoke and it went right up the ducts into my unit, it was awful.I'm conscious about how that could potentially affect guests who will be staying in the upper unit in the future.

We'd even be happy to move them into one of our (future) properties and just let them keep all/most of their rent income as free cashflow. 

In the near future, we’ll be visiting The Shoals area in northern Alabama, where we’re considering a potential move this spring.

I find the sellers want some of the upside of the future performance and the deal will not work if you do not achieve a substantial portion of it.