Both strategies are great and have their pros and consOne of the biggest wealth building tools in real estate is the ability to purchase a property as a primary residence and put less then 20% down.

HELOC: The Best Tool for Smart InvestorsWhy It Works:Pay interest only when you use it.Got extra cash?

I have checked with our lender and keeping this home's mortgage will not effect qualifying for our next house.4.

In effect, you will end up paying tax on your refi cash later on, when you sell the property.

One thing though is that there are requirements coming into effect soon where wholesalers will need to get their license in PA for any properties that they wholesale, so you might want to look into that before it becomes official!  

If you decide to revisit STRs, you might want to explore properties where you can project expenses independently, such as using local STR forums or online tools to estimate maintenance, management, and occupancy costs.For networking and strategy-building, you might find local meetups or groups beneficial.

I feel like in today’s day in age there are so many tools for STR operations and I cannot believe there is no integration for a merchant of sale transaction or some kind of financial app/ software that can take the remitted taxes and pay them to the government automatically.

They might be lower than anticipated and are a great tool for what you are looking to do.

I don't disagree that it is a good tool for someone just starting.Now, should folks be using such tools in the first place?

It looks like Privy is a great tool for identifying investment properties by using up to date MLS data.