Hey Andrew, welcome to the Forums.That’s awesome you’ve been learning about real estate since high school—starting early will really pay off.

We were initially looking out of state for a potential move and or investment property just because the property taxes without being able to homestead, plus high cost of insurance, and harsh weather on homes made me feel like it might not be worth it.

Focus on undervalued properties, prioritize high-ROI renovations, and refinance to pull equity for future deals while maintaining 20-25% equity.

And when talking to a buy you say "ha, ha, ha, look at the deal we got, we got that person to give us all this $ from there cashflow"The whole thing wreaks to high hell. 

I find LG TV's have great picture quality but the interface is kinda funky. 

I think since it's personal and you're the only owner, I would open a high-yield savings account and get 4-5% on the money.

Take a look at the overall picture, i.e. credit score, debts etc.. to make a decision.

We are in a constricted market cycle, low volume, strained budgets, high costs.

I would highly encourage paying a GC to walk deals out the gate, have them give a scope of work so you can see what items costs.

I am not familiar with how HELOCs work but they declined me saying my DTI is too high.