I think diversity is great in a portfolio but so is scaling the area you are currently doing well in.

I am in a similar boat...A goal I have for 2025 is to pay off a mortgage (my highest interest is 4.5% and I owe $180K on it).

I suppose my question on this is: Is her simple statement (which came in a text, btw) to me of "I'm moving out," enough for me to take this kind of action?

I would say certainly within a month.This is your opportubnity to call in a soils engineer and make sure this does not happen again.

Per CoreLogic, only 1.8% of all mortgaged homes are in a negative equity position, and the average homeowner across the US has $311,000 in equity.If anyone has contradictory data, please share.

They are happy to look further from where they live, in a better rental market, because they do not want to do the management.If this were the case, then as others have said a hybrid of a 2-4 unit might be the best place to start.  

If you focus on a fixer upper you can renovate in 6 months and refinance on the ARV.You only need to be at a 85% LTV to refinance and its not hard to build 15% equity in a property in this market enviroment. 

That's great to hear that you're graduating and you want to get into multifamily.I would start off in a commercial real estate firm, learn the systems, the sales/buying process, how to analyze deals etc...

Hence you can see how interest rates play a large role in determining cap rates in a market in my opinion. 

I’m starting to lean more towards private lending as a way to get my toes wet and get my money working for me in a relatively stable way.I’m looking for educational resources or literature.