Pulling $110K in equity from a property you originally bought for $108K is a huge win—and a perfect example of why long-term investing pays off.Your reflection on remembering where it all started is so important.

Loan had high terms of 9.5% calculated to 20 years and a balloon payment on the 3rd year coming up this April 1st.

Me and a few folks I met at a mastermind group all went in on a joint account a few years back so we could save money. 

There is also a significant time investment in continuing education, and as others have mentioned, liability.If the goal is to access off market properties, simply having a license and MLS access won't necessarily help.

Get something durable in a color that does not stain easy and a material that can be scotchguarded and you will be good for several years.

Just a fYI as that can be a pain (and a costly one)

I would consider them to be more of a consultancy than a turnkey provider, and as such I think they provide tremendous value.Of course I could do all the legwork from scratch - research markets and properties, find lenders, get home inspectors and insurance and property managers and so forth - but RTR has already done all that and has far more experience and knowledge than I do.

NCJAR has the 60 hours you need and as part of that, they will give you study material.

Money/wealth is just a way to show that you are progressing and a tool

From what I've seen and read, most of the reason operators get in trouble is that there is some type of "event" that has occurred (usually their loan has matured or they've defaulted on their existing loan) and they need to refinance their loan and the lenders require a new appraisal to be done, which usually leads to a lower appraised value, and a lower loan amount, which "forces" the owner to pay down their debt.