I also am a MoCo to NoVa transplant (or traitor depending on who you ask lol).

@Michell ChaseEvery state you own property in you need to register as you will eventually have to pay state taxes as well

I am looking for a CPA recommendation in the Michigan area, who has extensive experience/knowledge with real estate taxes. 

What makes sense for you really depends on your experience and risk tolerance. 

With HELOCs and home equity loans you can typically pull out a max of 95% LTV, but that number could be less depending on credit, property type (primary vs investment), loan balance, etc.

It depends...most carports without exterior walls/doors would fall under a 15-year property under asset class 00.3. 

Just provide a cushion for the inevitable "rookie" tax that will hit.  

For your second question, that would depend on your equity.  

Rentals create cash flow, and that's what we want as real estate investors, but you need cash on hand for unforeseen circumstances.The AC needs to be replaced, that's $7K to $10K or more depending on the size of the house and if you have one rental, it will eat all your cash flow, same to replace a roof, etc, or if tenant trash the home, you need money to fix it again.To me personally a nice rental portfolio that is healthy consists about 10 units, so if you have an issue with a house the portfolio can cover the repairs and still healthy, but when starting you need to have cash on hand just in caseYes, there are multiple strategies you can use to hack your way to buy your first rental with minimum cash, but I would start wholesaling or fix and flip a few deals to create that cash as fast as possible

This creates two loan payments ($100,000 of equity and $300,000 on the new mortgage).Key NumbersHome Equity Loan Interest Rate: 6%Mortgage Interest Rate: 7%Rental Income: $3,000 per monthExpenses (management, taxes, insurance, maintenance): $800 per monthIncome and ExpensesMonthly Rental Income: $3,000Monthly Expenses: $800Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,000ExplanationThe investor earns $3,000 in rent each month.They pay $2,000 on the investment property mortgage and $800 on other expenses.This leaves $200 profit each month or $2,400 per year.However, you have to pay $6,000 interest on the equity borrowed.This leaves you with an annual loss of $3,600.While the rental property generates positive monthly income, the interest cost of borrowing the initial $100,000 results in an overall annual loss.