Also in your strategy lay out the combination of cash flow and or appreciation.  

Can’t remember the exact figures but the U.S. and its close allies have 10x the amount of gold than all of the BRICS countries combined.  

I am not the one making the payments, but it's still on my credit report.My limited income, combined with being a co-signer on the loan, results in a less-than-ideal DTI ratio.Under these circumstances, what type of loan or lender should I focus on?

This looks like a combination of interest rates and just relatively high prices still (e.g. most duplexes I've seen start at around 600k).

I'm using a combination of MLS comps provided by realtor, redfin, and backflip analysis tool.  

We bought it for $225k with a 3.125% mortgage and 1) are interested in keeping it as our first rental. 2) We are thinking about using some of the equity (maybe $50k or less as a HELOC to combine with existing cash for our next home down payment that we can convert to a HELOAN through our credit union).

They started the business from scratch in 2003 with a combination of wholesaling, fix-and-flips, and non-conventional financing sources like private lending, seller financing, and lease options—which remains their expertise today.If you had one question for a professional real estate investor who retired themselves by 37, what would it be??

Owe 2 million with 5 million in value combined. 

Your chances of success will be much higher in the best locations because the high demand of people wanting to live there combined with high appreciation potential will make up for the inefficiencies and risks of operating remotely.

There is value in intangible assets, at least as much as it would cost/take to recreate it - and it saves the buyer the years it took.Like Don said, maybe not interesting for a pure real estate investor, but this is a combination of a business and real estate, you have to value both.