The rust belt has been wonderful for out of state seeking better rental property returns due to the lower purchase prices and cashflow potential. 

You would arguably be better off buying a CD at a slightly lower yield with almost no risk, time, or stress requirements. 

They host regular meetups, workshops, and networking events that attract investors across all levels, including those focusing on multi-family and commercial properties.

Since you are a beginner, you should expect to see lower leverage - think 70% vs. 85-90% but that quickly changes as you get experience.Specifically, get your financial files together, work with a real estate agent to find your property and connect with contractors to put together a budget and a scope of work.

Nor may appreciate your risk tolerance level.1.  

Retirement accounts are designed to be invested passively so when the IRS sees you running an active business in it, to level the playing field between retirement accounts and other business the retirement account incurs UBIT. 

As far as what to tell them, you simply say that you're listing it for $1,700/month and are not willing to lower the rate.

Quote from @Devin James: Gross Margin is an important calculation for developers/builders.Gross Margin = Gross Profit / RevenueWe shoot for a 20% gross margin on our New Construction HomesReal #’s:Home Sales Price: $374KClosing Cost: $18,700Cost of Construction: $258KLand Cost: $30KGross Profit = $67K$67K/$374K = 17.9% Gross MarginCame slightly short of our goal of 20%Homes Values and Build Costs are constantly fluctuatingI wish we had a crystal ball build larger homes. average new build in our market is 2200 square feet, 4 beds, 3 baths, 2 car garage and sells for 515k. construction costs lower if design is good and find the median or average home sale price and push that up. my guess is you built too small. 347k is cheap. we target 429-479k price range in columbus ohio for single family homes and also only purchase close to urban core where premiums are 20% higher and we build smaller like 1500 sq ft where price per square foot goes up. 

A HELOC or cash-out refinance is definitely worth exploring if you want to free up capital for more investments, but make sure it fits your goals and comfort level.

As it relates to habitation exposures, it appears that there may be a leveling off in premiums, rates, and deductibles here recently, but there's so many different variables that it's really hard to make a blanket prediction for 2025 (or the future).