Hi guys.We are total newbies when it comes to real estate investing.But due to unforeseen circumstances (bme becoming disabled and no longer able to work) we decided to give it a shot and enter the market.We purchased a 3 family multi for 155k with only 20k down.Income is 2300 total monthly, and pays off the mortgage, as well as a good 80% of my own home's mortgage.We couldn't be happier!

My numbers may be off, but the risk of vacancies, unforeseen maintenance and market fluctuations have me leaning toward a NNN (triple net lease) commercial deal where a 8 CAP gets you closer to that 8-10% cash on cash return as you have no operating costs.

Trust your realtor - we pushed a more aggressive list price than recommended initially by our realtor which probably caused us to miss out on some buyers and then had to lower the asking price by $10,000 when we needed to get our capital out for other projects.The original rehab estimate was closer to $45,000 but we encountered the following unforeseen issues we had to deal with: (1) Drainage issue in back yard required a 40' retaining wall and french drain ($4,000); (2) Roof of addition was not property joined to main structure causing a buckle after a heavy rain - we had to get a structural engineer's report and fix that problem in order to sell the house ($1,500); and (3) Miscellaneous items here and there that we forgot to account for $1,268.  

One thing I would suggest, is to perhaps still include the property management fees in case you run into unforeseen circumstances unless you plan to manage the unit for the life of the ownership.

Their explanation is unforeseen family events and a week ago they cancelled quarterly inspection due to a family emergency.

These cash reserves should include repair costs, vacancies and unforeseen emergencies.  

Good news is I may have more time to learn and hopefully contribute.I'm finally ready to call it a success story, with the knowledge anything can go south for unforeseen reasons (fingers crossed).

Due to unforeseen extended family issues, I don't feel comfortable leveraging anything for more property at this point (although I'm always looking for something suitable) or investing more than $50k or so in a low-risk project.

Getting yourself highly-leveraged (using all the HELOC) puts you in a risky position should you have unforeseen capital expenses, and no way to pay for them. 

Also, building cash reserves is important  for future unforeseen expenses and when you eventually get into Commercial loans (3 - 6 months PITI).And like others have said stay aware of any tax consequences from refi.