For your scenario, you would be able to afford $8300 monthly mortgage assuming no debts. ($200K/12 months = $16k/ month of 50% = $8333.

My debt on this home will show, but so will the rental income from it.

(I also had to come to CA for health reasons, so I am not sure if that is an exception)- If I use any of the above, can I use a portion of the money to pay off personal debt?

You don't necessarily need to replace it with exactly $140k in debt, as long as the total purchase price meets or exceeds your sale price and all the proceeds are reinvested.Using Proceeds as a Down PaymentYes, your $300k could absolutely serve as a down payment on a larger property, like a $1.5M asset, depending on your financing.

I know, there are plenty of red flags there, but I do believe it is worth the risk when I consider how happy it makes my wife, how life-changing it will be for the family, how minor the financial impact will be on me, and how it gives me the opportunity to practice the steps of real estate investing with forgiving tenants.Finally, I am going to attempt to self manage as nothing comes close to cash-flowing if you include PM costs.

More importantly, get the high interest rate debt paid off first.

These markets tend to attract a lot of investor activity, which can drive prices up, leading local homeowners to take on more debt to afford homes in their area."

My next comments are ONLY for tax purposes and may not align with how the waterfall works in the offering.Your syndicator may treat all distributions paid to you, up to your full capital balance and any allocated debt, as a return of capital for tax purposes.  

There’s just something about owning a duplex or triplex that makes the numbers more forgiving...you’ve got multiple units covering your expenses, and if one tenant’s late on rent, at least the others might keep the ship afloat.A friend of mine once worked with a client who snagged a triplex down in Austin and ended up treating me to breakfast tacos after those first rent checks cleared.

For me I have 3 main goals I am shooting for:1) Pay back the debt I acquired purchasing rentals this year.