If anything, at least wait a year so you don't pay short-term capital gains on the sale of the property.I need to find some more deals like that here in Chicago...where in Houston was this property?

I gained equity in the property, and I got higher rents which lowered my living expenses while living there.

My advice would be to start small with your first deals to gain experience before scaling up.

I'm a newbie tooSelf education through books is a conversation between the author (mentor) and you.You'll gain knowledge, connections etc but it takes timeAttending meetups, listening to Youtube videos on subject matter further broadens knowledge base

I would think with the HELOC, I could run with that until I can do a refi and with the interest rates starting to come down, there should be some gains to be made and I can repay the HELOC in short term. 

Holding an asset long term... well people have a lot of finance talk about appreciation, unrealized gains, equity.. a lot of that is true and valid.

My hope is I can gain their trust as a property manager and eventually be the one they turn to to sell later on or refer for business in the future.

We are definitely dependent on that population and job growth to eventually gain some profit spread.

I would trade the 7.5% I am chasing with my "barbell strategy" (of 40-45% commercial real estate syndications) for a 17.5% return gained in active investing.

Consider the "2 of the last 5 year rule" to avoid capital gains.