As we improved the building, we notified the tenants that they were going to have to pay market rents...and ALL of them moved out (they were very angry that we have the 'nerve' to raise their rents).Two years and $150K of improvements later, we had the building fully leased on triple net leases at market rates and we sold it for $2M.

Examine various neighborhoods, types of properties, and trends in the market.

They can change from street to street, and you wouldn't want to own anything on a street that a great resident doesn't want to live on.My advice would be to take it slow, look at a lot of deals, and always examine 2nd and 3rd order consequences.

While this all sounds like a great plan, we've never done anything like this before so it's nerve-wracking to think about making such a large investment using our HELOC.

That's the safest and easiest way to get into real estate investment and should take some of the nerves out of it. 

I'm particularly interested in duplexes or triplexes that might be able to offer positive cash flow within the first year.I've spent countless hours researching cities, examining listings, and analyzing population growth trends, but I'm sure there are hidden gems (cities) I've yet to discover. 

This include examinations, searches for titles, and a thorough evaluation of the property's finances.

When you examine the people advising the popular course of action you see that are either people who are selling something such as mentorship programs in wholesaling properties, or people who have recently committed time and or money to this pursuit and have a almost fanatical need to convince everyone else that their course of action was correct.  

Plans examiner is asking where in IBC code that's referenced and my architect is coming up empty.

Click to read - Bigger Pockets Blog: Reshaping of Commercial Office Real Estate: A Detailed Examination