Secondly we are about to move, and I'm considering a house that would need a more major rehab than we have ever undertaken in the normal course of life.

Your interest rate is very attractive and you are getting multiple benefits from owning the property (income, tax break, mortgage pay down, appreciation, and leverage).Personally, I would probably find away to hold on to the property unless you had a more attractive investment opportunity.

I'd put no money there, and that's without even running numbers.The only other things of value that I can possibly add are:It's hard for me to wrap my head around how much you're making per year but I second the advice to learn more about high earning professional investment options/strategies while you are doing thatI'm not in a place to suggest what to do for you with your time, but I would suggest that you keep an open mind with regards to not ruling out a more 'active' use of your time when it comes to real estate or some other more entrepreneurial gig. 

If you're married and have lived in your primary 2 of the last five years, you can avoid taxes on a resale up to $500k....A HELOC on your primary will carry very favorable terms...I recently got one for 97%LTV with unbeatable terms...You'll get mixed opinions here about the option to re-fi (some people are calling this BRRRR or something like that)...If you could tell a bit more about what direction you are trying to head with your investment plan I may be able to give a more informed response. 

I don't think that you use an LLC unless you are building a business to attract investors and that is a more complicated structure with more costs involved and I think you only do that when you have a lot of success under your belt and know how to deploy hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars with outside investors' money. 

If you want quick access for when you find a deal and need to act quickly, it may be better to have it in a more conservative place (i.e.

I am submitting an offer tomorrow and will keep you updated if get a more in-depth look at the HVAC.  

I have been looking toward the future and needed to find a more passive income. 

You'll read some commentaries that the market is starting to swing back toward a more "balanced" market vs. being very much in favor of sellers, but values are continuing to rise, albeit maybe more slowly than in the past.

He has a moral compass and will give the best quote to save time and money.