No it is not spam.

One thing I'm not sure of is location in this case, I suppose I could either look in a well established area and expect equity to increase through remodeling or in a less desirable area that I'm gambling will attract more attention in the future.

Playing the appreciation game can be like gambling, and if your house is really cash flowing well after all of your expenses and your mortgage payment I'm not sure if it makes sense to sell. 

If its negative cash flowing NOW and you don't have a ton of reserves to cover yourself long term for the HOPE/GAMBLE of the appreciation play, then its time to sell, cut your losses and move on

even though I'm sure this post and OP are spam, I'll still suggest the personal capital app.very similar to Mint, but a bit more refined imo

Some times it can work and the gamble pays off, unfortunately it usually does not.The numbers starting out look good enough to try you only lacked the experience to succeed.My advice would be to stay away from real estate.

I'm also entertaining the idea of staying put and just taking out a big HELOC, but my fear of getting stuck in this house and town is significant.....I don't gamble at all, and I don't watch sports.

I appreciate your comments about providing ongoing education but it seems even this is a real gamble.... at least for the renter. 

I know that appreciation is a gamble, but if a city's economy is diversified and there is a finite amount of land in the prime location that is downtown/waterfront then chances are it should appreciate, right?

You've traded 'asset protection' for limited financing options.If you don't care about getting spam e-mail the rest of your life, try lending tree or quicken/rocket mortgage maybe just to see.