You will have an entitlement limit of let's say $450k, you could in theory buy two homes in different areas if your total loans between 2 homes are under that $450k.

That seems steep, I pay $550 for the same type of SFR with Allstate but you may have different limits than I

Having a quality property manager on our team helped make this a great hands-off investment that fit our family's lifestyle. 

Most bid jobs have a time limit which is usually 30 days.

The “dead equity” argument is that the ROI on your equity when you have a paid off property is very limited.  

The fund can be formed to invest in a single asset, or multiple assets, so the Fund size is probably limited only by cost considerations.  

Limited monthly cash flow, but maintain good rate of principle reduction at 15K and say appreciation of property at 2% a year.Shortly after joining the Army I was interested in using both retirement accounts (couldn't contribute to TSP then) and real estate to prepare for the future. 

First question does it make sense to spend all that money into a room that is not a bedroom  within the city limits of Birmingham?  

They may have limits on the number of rental properties and often are militant about neighborhood rules.The "little" HOAs don't scare me at all. 

The New York Property Insurance Underwriting Association (http://www.nypiua.com) should be able to provide limited coverage.