Rates are a bit higher and down payment is a bit more but you can just rack them up if you find a good lender.

If you let a bad tenant linger and rack up $10,000+ in losses, then it's going to hurt more.You don't have to be a jerk or slumlord to make money.

I would leave the double sink-gives them a place for the drying rack instead of using the counter. 

When we sent the plumber out to fix the problem he said he couldn't touch the water heater because the wooden stand and the surrounding drywall was covered in mold.

Hi Pal,Why not you sleep in the shed after fixing it up, and rent out the more desirable house for more money.You would essentially be living free, just you, your microwave and a mini fridge, use a blue porta-potty and shower down at the gym, get water from the house spigot out back.Then you would not even have to fix it up much, just enough to keep the spiders out.How much more a whole house would rent for vs a shed, and maybe put up a wooden privacy fence, so the renters would not see you coming and going.Tell them you are eccentric, or just like communing with nature.Good Luck!

Also metal dish rack that came with the house.

They're all steel except for the wooden plywood floors so I'm not thinking anyone would have a fire hazard issue with them.

We buy mortgages and I would say more than 50% of people that take a HELOC to pay off debt rack it right back up within 3 years because they have a spending problem.

Starting out is nerve-racking there is so much to learn, while making sure I don't lose a lot of capital in the process 

Stats:fixer upA lot of aesthetically interior and exterior work needed.New BR and kitchenPaint all roomAll floorsNew doorsPaint and replace wooden shingles outsideClean up yard and brush Possibly build a new drivewayAnd more.