Quote from @Devin James: The E-Myth is a classic!

In 2023, we made the decision to move to USA and chose NC for many reasons, Mooresville specifically, as my husband is a mechanic and doing classic auto restorations.The immigration process has been brutally long as I am still waiting for my visa to be able to officially immigrate and work.

Is the house hack strategy off the table? 

anyone can sue anyone but even without a contract you have an agreement based on a table of costs.

However, you have to ask yourself, "What am I bringing to the table?" 

If interest rates fall later, refinancing again might require you to bring extra funds to the table, which could impact your overall investment strategy.

I seem to have timed some REIT investments well too - nothing I did, just classic DCO. 

The population is almost half of what it used to be 2010, property values are going down, median home prices -1.5%,..You are making the classic nooby mistake looking at cashflow as your #1 criteria.

By the way, from what I read in the Wall Street Journal, there’s a growing number of niche investors cropping up who love grabbing assignments that fly under the mainstream radar, especially if you’re bringing something fresh to the table like a distressed duplex they can reposition, or a small portfolio of row homes they can turn into long-term rentals.

So I’m trying to see if I take that equity off the table and re-invest the sale proceeds in another market across more doors where we’ll see better appreciation, OR if we continue keeping it as a rental and work on principal pay down even though the rental price has been coming down and the home is not the easiest to fill because of the above average price for the C- to B neighborhood.Ultimately, my stated goal has been to build appreciation (over cash flow) by acquiring 1-4 doors per year for the next 10 years to allow my wife to retire (or be work optional) by the time she's 50.