When investing in high cash-flow markets, I always recommend working with an investor friendly agent so you're able to gain the right insight on the different areas and the risks involved.

I gained equity in the property, and I got higher rents which lowered my living expenses while living there.

I would think with the HELOC, I could run with that until I can do a refi and with the interest rates starting to come down, there should be some gains to be made and I can repay the HELOC in short term. 

Becoming a real estate agent is a good idea to gain experience, but you could also explore property management, wholesaling, or working with an investor to build your network. 

The great thing about living in a high cost of living area is that your salary / wages are hopefully also very high.If you are a new college grad, I would focus the next 1-3 years on increasing your salary as much as possible(gain new skills, new certifications, change employers, etc).Once you make more money, you can easily get in a position to buy a property on a more frequent basis.Best of luck!

You can very quickly gain $1,000,000 doing value-add but to get to a million via saving up cash-flow..... good luck. 

You'll gain valuable insights into evaluating deals, financing, and managing properties.Local NetworkingPlug into local investor meetups in your area, the Pensacola area should have tons of groups.

@Fulati PaerhatiA 1031 exchange is a powerful strategy to defer capital gains taxes and grow your rental portfolio.

It's crucial to evaluate how the deal performs with the new mortgage:Updated Financials After Refinancing: Market Value: $250,000 Mortgage Amount (80% LTV): $200,000 Equity: $50,000 Interest Rate: 5% (30-Year Amortization) Assuming after 12months the rate will drop from 6% to 5%Monthly Expenses: Mortgage Payment: $1,074 Property Tax: $260 (4% Adjustment from last year) Utilities: $309 (+3% Adjustment) Insurance: $104 (+4% Adjustment) Vacancy: $105 Repairs & Maintenance: $105 (now after 12 months we can assume we have repairs at 5% factor on annual rent) Total Monthly Expenses: $1,957Rent Income after 12 months assuming annual rent increase at 5% : $2,100Cash Flow: $143 per month 😊Year 2 Return on investment $2,951 Principal Paydown year 2 $20,000 Property Appreciation (assuming 8% per year) $1,720 Yearly Cash Flow (this will increase as rents rise) $50,000 Initial Equity Total Gain $74,671 with just $ $22,789 remaining in the deal. 

I recommend you go visit a few times to network with local investors or find an investor friendly agent so you can gain local market knowledge, find off market deals and for things such as showings, picture taking or getting accurate comps.