@Brett Jurgens To leverage your Denver rental's equity, consider a HELOC or cash-out refinance to access funds while keeping the property and rental income.

I quickly chose one of the first 'investor-friendly' agents I found, bought the cheapest duplex on the market, and only interviewed a single property management company.Looking back, I wish I had taken the time to connect with more local investors in the area and leveraged their experiences to help me avoid some costly mistakes.After two years, I sold that underperforming duplex and reinvested closer to home.

•Explore private lenders or hard money loans if you need higher leverage, though the interest rates will likely be much higher.

I guess my questions that still remain: Did the city in theory have a lot of leverage in these negotiations after the second failed attempt at rezoning by the developers? 

It can make more sense to do PML's in the IRA instead of rentals, particularly if you use leverage since the IRA will incur UDFI on that portion of the income derived from the mortgage. 

I agree with Melanie, If you work towards buying your primary in Los Angeles, it could help you leverage to buy rental properties out of state in the future. 

Leverage will be based on whether the land is entitled and borrower track record but 50-60% is the norm, not 80%.

If want passive just buy stocks or class A lower leverage multifamily which is easy to self manage. 

So I would highly recommend leveraging your money and don’t pay off your primary.

Now that I'm retired I "eat" some of the profits, but because I did this for so long while I was working my total leverage is about 25-30% with a bunch of properties free and clear.