Do you already own any properties, or are you just getting started and looking to purchase your first one?

Purchase price: $200,000 Cash invested: $30,000 Single Family Residence holding on to.

It was a fun realization so I thought I'd share it here.I purchased my first real rental 11 years ago off the MLS for 108k (put 20% down).

Purchase price: $35,000 Cash invested: $38,000 Another flip ready in the market. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4467-Sims-St-Columbus-GA-31907/76572533_zpid/

Yes, there are definitely 15% down options available for investment property purchases!

I've not yet invested in my first property, but I plan to purchase my first one by the end of 2023.

This would allow you to indefinitely defer all of the tax if you sold, and use the tax you would have had to pay, to purchase something nicer in an area with a greater growth potential.   

I've got about $525K in equity in the property, but lenders have told me that I cannot get a HELOC to access that equity for additional purchases because the duplex was financed as an investment - they have said TX law dictates that HELOC can only be used on primary residences.

To defer all tax you must purchase in total at least as much as your net sale.

My wife and I purchased a home at the very beginning of 2022 and "house-hacked."