@Sebastian Tamburro you're going to get advice/offers from numerous people trying to profit off you - be careful!

That's not a "net profit" of $550/month because you haven't accounted for vacancy, maintenance, capex, or other expenses.

Let's say you make 100k/year gross - you'd need 16-17 properties that pure cashflow (profit) $500/month.

This helps assess profitability.7.

You may run into issues trying to take a HELOC out on an investment property, and even if you can I doubt you'd want to use it for a down payment for a primary because the rates are much higher.What kind of cash flow would you be generating from your multi once you move out?

I would forget about growing the portfolio and generational wealth until your husband finds a job and you reduce your credit card debt.Credit card debt has interest rates above 20%, there is a strong case that your rentals are not generating a 20% return.

Profits are much better and less of a hassle than dealing with short term/ airbnb. 

The complex became profitable just about when the package ran out.  

I think the business has pretty thin profit margins and they tend to take on too many units, which results in the quality going down.

Once you get a flavor for lending options you should run a proforma and determine how much return the project will be able to generate on its's own and how much return will be left for LP investors if you go the syndication route.