To be safe, it’s usually a good idea to wait a bit—most people suggest 6–12 months.Also, keep in mind that lenders will base the amount you can pull out on the appraised value and their loan-to-value limits, so you might not be able to take out the full difference between $2M and $2.5M.Hope that clears things up!

Robbie - first thing that comes to mind is renting out the rooms individually on shorter term leases (co-living model). 

I also like your general rule about buying the worst house in a decent neighborhood, and it's been on my mind to do exactly that -- About a month ago, I placed a bid on a distressed house in a nice  neighborhood, but my offer was too low and the competition was brutal.

I recently found myself struggling to even find a podcast to listen to, none sounded like anything that would serve me in my current state of mind, (out side of BP On the market, let's be honest that's the only reason i have any idea what's going on at a macro level with the economy at all, so anytime a new episode is out there its a listing immediately).  

When we get stuck in analysis paralysis there are a few things that come to mind:1.

When evaluating long-term real estate opportunities, keep in mind the four key pillars of investing:Appreciation – Focus on how your property’s value grows over time.Cash Flow – Assess your rental income after accounting for all expenses.Tax Benefits – Leverage deductions like depreciation to reduce your tax burden.Debt Pay Down – Use rental income to pay down your mortgage, steadily building equity.Think of it like investing in a 401(k) with a long-term perspective—especially in California, where property values can appreciate significantly over time.

Pro: In addition to MLS access your brokerage might provide access to other resources such as detailed online assessment data not available free to the public. 

The address was submitted to their red book and now shows up online as official address when I try to ship items from Amazon or similar websites.

Maybe buy your next place with future rental potential in mind! 

So, keep that in mind because if your struggle you will personally be on the hook for the debt.