@Thomas Bryan,  It's not nice to upset CPAs this time of year....:)  Actually your questions are pretty straightforward.1.

On that point, mindy is really very nice so coming on the forums and trying to blast her for simple advertising is very childish.

I ended up holding onto two income properties in nice areas of the valley and they produce minor cash flow today, but not significant and the property values are still less than I paid for them.  

@Rick Baggenstoss That is a nice literal cross section of town that I'm sure offers a pretty good chance at appreciation as ITP along that corridor and south continue to transform. 

Nice to see Bloomfield getting it's due.

But as @Bob Okenwa said, it is a competitive market so you are going to need to look at some alternative lists. 

There have been multiple times when I didn't offer on a property because I thought my offer would be too low, only to meet the person who eventually bought it for less than I was going to offer.Over the years, when struggling to afford a decent investment, I've come back to condos time and again because they can be high quality homes in nice neighborhoods, and at an affordable price. 

Alabama is nice but the deals don't run like water. 

I have told 2 guys in the past who had nice deals , lets do it , BUT  51% control goes to me , I call the shots .  

The nice thing about a HELOC is you have ready access to cash if you need it, but pay nothing if you don't use it.