If you decide to do it, it would be wise to obtain a valuation by a third party or if that proves to costly develop your own comparables to justify your allocation.

Hi BP Community, I've read some posts before covering investments from various angles but have not found something specific to my situation so I'm am looking for some thoughts and advice from the wise folks on BP.

I have no readily available cash but we do have about 40-50k in home equity but I don't know if its wise to pull that out.

You have the right idea how far in michigan are you looking to invest(location wise)? 

Thank you for the welcome @James Wise!

It doesn't have to work perfectly numbers wise if it's a place you really want to live in, but you also shouldn't buy a bad deal just to get into a great area. 

You are making a wise decision if you decide to invest in property.

Use Holton-Wise.

Normally when calling on banks for loans you would want to speak to the special assets or secondary marketing department but its not wise or a good use of your time to go after the top 100 banks.

If your income (like a job) is over $150k, any paper losses that this property might generate will be locked up tax-wise until some future point: either your income drops, or you have some passive income, or you sell this property.If your income is below $150k, you are likely to see some tax benefits right away.