Do not do anything that does not produce income.

I found a property in my area that would produce decent cash flow and appreciation; however, I would have to use funds from a HELOC on a different rental property for the down payment.

Turning a "SFR 3bed / 2bath with a bonus room" , into a 4 bed / 2 bath with the simple addition of a closet, is one of my favorite value add plays. 

If you want to do it yourself, be ready to answer text messages at 3 AM, solve problems within a 2 hour window, deal with contractors who aren’t able to “turn” a vacancy quick enough, and guests who want “instant” gratification.  

Hi @Zhong Zhang I have used vacancy hacks over the years to get personal properties under 1% when turning tenants over. 3% increase depends on renewing or getting new tenants, when renewing tenants that's  a safe amount. 

There are times when we see deals on the table that won't produce any cashflow or not enough cashflow to meet our target hurdle rate but the tax benefits or appreciation potential may make the deal attractive. 

Though my last visit turned me off with the traffic and prices.

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.

I currently work with investors to build their portfolios with Turn-key long-term rentals, making it hands-free for the investors. 

Appraisal turn around time with no rush is 7 - 10 days.