How do I obtain these goals when the horizon is so turbulent?

So with that said I am guessing there are a few variables, one would be my time horizon.

I have a background in RE investing over the last 5 years and wanting to broaden my horizons.

But the name of the game is skate to where the puck is going....this market seems to have a vibe of affordable housing, space, yard, single family, etc... in my opinion Not sure about NY, but Cleveland has pockets of massive appreciation.Tremont, Lakewood, Ohio city - all neighborhoods of 2x-4x appreciation over 7-10 year horizon..... not sure now as I never had the stomach for the risk/reward.I always operate in the same market since I’m a high velocity flipper and deals exist all over the Midwest key is building relationships and trust in your market.

If you have a long enough time horizon on owning a park, you may be able to rent the homes long enough to pay them off and then capitalize on the trend.

I very much agree with your assessment, though I think your time horizon is a little conservative.

Linzey,I would recommend against buying a home if your time horizon is one year.

Now IF we had all the people in the world going to trade schools which are currently at about 5-10% enrollment of pre-collapse numbers, and IF we had every developer dripping in billions to start all the developments needed to get to parity now, IF we had magic wands to waive to make the ridiculous mountains of red tape disappear so it didnt's take ridiculous months on months to get permits to break ground, you'd still have to answer for the fact that we can't get lumber, decking, fasteners or really just name the material because there is the biggest materials shortage in recorded history, only WWII compares in material shortages and there is 0 relief on the horizon because there is still various covid shut downs and restrictions.

Given your time horizon, your lender have a floating rate product [the HELOC] tied to a fixed rate loan, which is a bad idea, never mind the fact that they could call the HELOC at anytime. 

If you plan to move away in 2 years and not hire a property manager, your time horizon looks like 2 years to a sale.Do you still want to be a landlord?