Is the higher price agent inflating to get the listing or is the lower price agent just not keyed in well enough in the specific neighborhood?

Also HELOC's typically have lower interest rates than personal loans since it is secured by your home.

There's usually a good reason why the entry points are lower.

But as far monthly payment you could easily buy a house in a cheaper location have less roommates and the same monthly payment or the same number of roommates and a lower monthly payment.

If you are borrowing $150k, rates will not likely drop enough for you to justify a refinance due to lower rates.

If you are willing to entertain areas outside Gainesville, you should look into areas like South Fulton, Forest Park ( lots of lower priced inventory) Jonesboro, and College Park to name a few.

If they have a good interest rate it might be worth looking to see if you could assume their loan to take advantage of the lower rate.  

Off-market deals are key if you go this route, so networking is huge.Out-of-state investing is another option people love, especially in markets like PA (Philly, Scranton) or even down south where prices are lower, and the landlord-tenant laws are more forgiving.

I haven't seen prices drop too dramatically but I have seen homes in my buy box sitting on the market longer and some lowering prices. 

With the fund I used, they had a month where they had a few defaults, the return was a bit lower, and they sent out an email apologizing for the lower yield.