We also weren't too worried about a reserve account from the jump on this project because we had 2 months of deferred mortgage payments which allowed us to stockpile cash for lender required repairs which included a new roof and patchwork in the parking lot and other turn costs which we anticipated as we moved rents. 

Either way it definitely helps to have a stockpile of cash, as the saying goes "cash is king."

Like a lot of the talking heads on radio, now is a time to stockpile dry powder. 

Like @Kuba F. mentioned you may want to stockpile a little more cash for flips but once you get the first one done hopefully you can start stacking your flips and everything will quickly snowball. 

I've also been building my credit and stockpiling all of my overage/salary money.

I would not pay it off and stock pile cash for more opportunities when things slow down.

Hello BP,Newbie here..So I noticed that quite a bit of folks hold a stockpile of cash for each rental property that they have to be safe. 

I would not recommend you trying to finance a foreclosure until you've had a bit more experience.Foreclosures are generally sold at the court house steps for cash, so there's usually not enough time to get bank financing.That leave private lenders, but without these relationships already in place (and a solid track record) that's not a viable option yet.Instead, I recommend you get very good at recognizing (and creating) great deals, and then wholesale those deals to build your cash stockpile.

While I am growing my stockpile of cash for my first deal I am beginning to check off the necessary boxes for it to be a success.

This still looks great for a place to live for basically free while you're stock piling cash for your next down payment, but there's a lot more to consider if you plan on using both sides as a rental.