What they might lose sight of is that banks have underwritten these HELOCs based on the owner's US income only with a margin of safety and without taking any income from the Tulum property into consideration, which therefore represents a second margin of safety.

Ideally, you'd want closer to $40k-$50k to feel truly comfortable and have a safety net for your first investment property.

I want to provide a safe, structured living environment for individuals transitioning out of recovery or other challenging situations.I’m new to this process and was hoping for advice on the following:How to navigate zoning laws and permits in Montgomery for this type of setup.Licensing requirements for sober living or group homes.Strategies for finding residents or partnering with local organizations.Financial and operational tips for managing this type of property.I’ve heard zoning can be tricky and want to ensure I comply with all legal and safety requirements.

Do nothing...the tenant isn't renting that area and has no right to dictate how you use it as long as it poses no security/safety risk to them. 

If they find something I didn’t know about and they couldn’t have, or safety related then I’ll consider/cover some of it.

Since I have a family, a career, and a low risk tolerance, I consider this my safety cushion, to where I can sell any of my investments and still recoup my down payment.

That’s why I invested in rentals—to have a safety net.I'm not exactly sure where you're at, but if your current situation is causing frustration or stress, there’s no shame in selling a property to free up capital.

I have been poor very poor living off food banks and pawning items just to eat for a day and do it again.

: I understand that there is commercial and residential, but there has got to be subgroups While I don't think you need to niche down immediately, some specializations in residential RE are:- Co-op- Condo (incl. luxury)- SFR (median pricepoint)- SFR Luxury- MFR- RentalsThere are a ton of commercial RE specializations including retail (various types), restaurant, other food/bev., warehouse, storage, and dozens more.What should I expect when first coming into the profession ?

These are examples of how you could still be comparing apples to oranges focusing on safety and cash flow alone.