I appreciate your reply on my post and your offer to connect further.Thank you for sharing your concerns about paying in cash and depreciation; those are definitely something on our radar.

Then you pay more for a weekend...maybe $200-$300.   

imagine you’ve decided to invest in company bonds:        You see Coke, Pepsi, Tesla, Apple are all paying 5-7% but that’s not good enough.

When starting on the RE journey, you may need the cash flow to pay the bills.  

. $425k) to purchase a 12-unit Apartment ($1.5M) with 25% down ($375k from the HELOC).The remaining $50k from the HELOC could go into fixing/rehab of the 12-units.Then cash-refinance the larger amount from the 12-units to pay off the HELOC in one lump-sum (as much as possible), then using the cash flow from the apartment to pay off the rest of the HELOC.Repeat the process with a new apartment.1) Does this make sense? 

What I have done instead is pay cash initially.

Balloons coming due with higher interest rates, China market, China production, Manufacturing production moving back to the US, Worker shortages, Workert pay hikes, Ukraine/Russia food and fertilizer misses, Oil prices increasing due to the OPEC Q1 production curtailments in place, Houthi issues, Panama Canal Water issues, Illegal immigration impact (buy one of those office buildings and rent for $10mm per year for Illegal housing, take advantage) social benefits required, Climate change believe it or not- Buy or sell into that thought process,  US politics, Baby boomers leaving workforce and needing more benefits, Baby Boomers moving from Stocks to Bonds,  etc.I agree things will get worse, but that means more investing opportunities. 

Is it practical / worthwhile to get your agent license purely to avoid paying listing-agent fees on house flips?

To win, you have to pay more and with FHA you need properties in good shape so they pass FHA inspections.

Both own multiple LTR houses.Be aware that if you buy a STR in your SDIRA you can never stay in it or work on it while your IRA owns it. you cant stay in it even if you pay normal rates?