I’d stay away from all of the people around the Multifamily Mindset they are like vultures preying on students to use them for free labor and family and friends money.

A better option would be to partner with someone who can bring the capital needed in exchange for you contributing your time, labor/effort, and expertise.

Wholesalers might avoid licensing to reduce perceived risk, though this is a double-edged sword since wholesaling has its own legal pitfalls.5.

We certainly have found some deals that would reduce our living expenses compared to renting.

Given the permitting timeline, I will offer to purchase some of the furniture and redecorate the rest (so half and half to reduce some furniture building time).

This reduces your housing payment and helps you build equity. 

The cost of labor , materials , property taxes , inflation , interest rates  etc .

It also offers a chance to shift into something more passive, reducing the hands-on management that seems to be more of a hassle now that you’ve moved.That said, the rental income potential from your properties is worth noting, but there’s a limit to how much you can boost your cash flow, especially after already making significant upgrades.

Use your HELOC to purchase the duplex outright for $118K.Your brother’s $50K down payment can immediately go toward reducing your HELOC balance, leaving a remaining balance of $68K.Create a formal lease-to-own agreement with your brother.

We had good capital gains on our first new property so we were able to inject that in our current primary residence reducing mortgage amount.