Then last option would be a "unsecured" personal loan where the bank offers up to $50K for example to pay off and consolidate debts.The 2nd and the personal loan will pay off debts and lower DTI and you might have enough left over for down payment or just use VA again.

Whatever you decide to go with, if you go cheap just prepare yourself that you'll probably never touch it up well unless you have a leftover can.

In a decade or two, as Gen X age out and everyone left over with buying runway is of the Internet generation, NARs may loose even more influence, with or without other lawsuits/rulings, and the real estate landscape will change.To be clear, I am not prophesizing a doom and gloom, it just the natural evolution of society, but it was accelerated by this ruling.

Then it's super important to know how to deal with the property AFTER your winning bid: how to clear the title and how to negotiate left-over encumbrances.  

(I set aside 20K from the rents after mortgages are paid, so basically I take in 68K a year, save 20K for vacancies, have 48K left over, etc.).Principal pay down is 67K a year.Appreciation is 500-800K a year in a good year.

Any ‘left over’ rehab budget, doesn’t matter you only repay funds received from the HML.

Use the left over money to put towards another investment (whether it is real estate, stocks, or even a high interest savings account).3.

And lastly, no need to give away delta if the seller isn't asking for it :)I am working on getting them to seller carry a portion of the leftover balance.

I bought it for $170K and 2.5 years later its worth $185K.Is it better to keep the rental (as part of my retirement planning) as a long- term investment or should I sell, pay off all consumer debt ($67K) and put the left over cash in IRA, 401K, HYSA?

Could i take any of the left over cashflow and transfer to my personal account and use it to pay the 401k loan back?