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.   

There are some HOA's that are in such bad shape they wont allow any type of loans and it must be a cash purchase.

It won't take much money to purchase something that makes sense.Use the remaining money to invest long-distance.

@Mario Morales - As some others have said I think the strategy is sound, but the key would be to find a distressed property that you can drive up the value with renovations so that the new value is 25% higher than the purchase price so you pay back your HELOC.

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.

Purchase price: $225,000 Cash invested: $40,000 Sale price: $375,000 Bought a large 4 bedroom pool home and flipped

Quote from @Melissa Sejour: I am new to the real estate investing space and was wondering how do you go about researching the best areas to purchase properties?

I've found an off-market property that would require $175k purchase, $35k down, $20k in repairs, with a conservative ARV of $235k.