We do not raise it to market rents, we keep it at lease 10% below to try and reduce turnover.

If I used the HELOC, the investment needs to generate >9%.I recognize there are many variables not listed here but would love to hear from more experienced investors on more generally how you think about using cash vs. home equity to grow your portfolio in the current environment. 

I’m pretty busy with my job as it’s a 24/7 industry, I don’t have time to handle aggressively hunting for off market deals however I could still do it with mailers, as I’m in no rush to purchase right away.

Just as bad as the posts you see from time to time of the grandchild wanting to work out creative financing to buy their grandparents house below fair market value.  

it's a tough market. 

Off market deal from a previous listing a year prior.

An analysis of the data also shows that the city north of Austin grew 10.6% year-over-year, making it the fastest-growing city of at least 50,000 people.

Which ones will still deliver in a down market? 

My problem i is my market is super expensive if I stay in the nyc area and I don’t have the confidence since I don’t have any actual experience to invest out of state do you guys think paying off my mortgage would be more beneficial than looking for more rentals .

Homes that will hit that 10% ratio as a short-term rental aren't easy to find anywhere in this competitive STR, market.