Reading this really gave me a boost of confidence to buy my first investment property.

Nothing will boost your return more than paying attention to these immediately.  

Sometimes you just need that extra nudge or boost of inspiration to get back on track, hopefully I can play a small part in other investors' journeys to achieve their goals, and have fun doing it!

We (and you) will still have many ways to boost your buying ability by maintaining a good debt to income (DTI) ratio and structuring your taxes each year to pay more to the Federal Government and the State, but you'll be able to show you earn more and can therefore qualify for more. 

The BRRR strategy boosts IRR. 

For example, a HELOC wouldn't be worth it because most banks want 80% LTV.Perhaps, I'm missing other ways that you can use this equity - or ways in which that 25% equity boost to your net worth can be used.

I have never had a car payment, credit card or anything else that would boost my credit to a place a bank would feel comfortable loaning me money.

You've been greeted by the welcome wagon and have gotten a boost of confidence. 

So you would need to supplement with deals that are looking to exit (and stagger them to exit, say every year or so...so you could benefit from the price appreciation boost).

Is this likely to boost SFH rental rates in the area?