Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

We ran out of time which caused us to buy a couple properties we probably shouldn't have at the bottom of our exchange list.The better ones were sold before we could buy them. 

When I began investing in cabins in the Smokies, I made rule that I would only buy cabins on creeks or rivers where you can catch your dinner. 

The property manager we work with offers reasonable rates for this service and will take care of inventory management, leasing, maintenance, and overall property management.Always buy a property that would also be a good long-term rental.

Investment Info:Condo buy & hold investment.First primary residence (2 bed/ 2 bath condo) located into a desirable part of Southern California.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

Instead of buying existing properties and rehabbing them, the idea is to partner with a builder who constructs new rental properties, then refinance and rent them out. 

I would suggest you do both of what you suggest - meaning get either a new mortgage (more conservative route) or HELOC on the townhome and use those funds to buy your next investment property.

Then, if you can trend over time you'll want to see where the "path of progress" is going/moving and attempt to buy in that path of progress to gain some appreciation in the future.

The current average rent on the new buy is $925.