These areas are becoming 'micro Big Sur-esque,' a more affordable piece of the Pacific Wonderland. 

You could also get a line of credit for about $150k (you should be able to borrow 75% of the value.)The reason I suggest this is…1) you save $40-$60k in selling costs. 2) you have a lower blended interest rate (2/3rds at 3.25% and 1/3rd at 7 or 8% instead of the whole $500k at 7 or 8%) saving you another $1k/mo in interest. 3) you only pay interest on that $150k when you actually use it, not from day 1  Unless you hate this property, or want to buy something you can’t afford without selling, that would be my plan.

I'm a rookie in whole selling , I only have the knowledge that social media has and I think I understand how it works but have no idea of where to start or how its pretty frustrating not being able to provide for my family the way I want to and I could really use some advice or maybe tutoring in this subject, I just turned 20 and I want to have a good life in this economy I could really use any advice thank you so much.

I want to avoid falling into a mindset of thinking we can't afford to invest because of the needs in front of us.

This is very frustrating given that I was under the impression that I could just roll the entire retirement balances over to a IRA and then have complete control to invest that money into properties. 

Or try the reverse - rehab a property to Class A standards in a Class D neighborhood and try to get a Class A or B tenant to rent it.Unfortunately, many newbie real estate investors are jumping into buying affordable Class C rentals - expecting Class A results.

It was the system that afforded this.

These markets offer affordable homes, many of which are turnkey (new builds or fully rehabbed), with properties that have 10+ years of life left and are ready for tenants.

A home equity loan seems like a possible way to expand my portfolio, would consider buying a multifamily and renting out our current home to live in one of the units and purchase it as a primary home (assuming its 4 units or less), but being in the Santa Cruz CA area, I am afraid I'll need to look outside of CA for any deal that makes sense, and can't afford to lose my great job (can't work remotely).  

God forbid something happens and I either can't get rid of a tenant or can't find one, I would barely even be able to afford the mortgage