He was able to buy two houses using a HELOC because his business has strong cash flow and he can repay the loan quickly.Anyway, after reading your post, I'm leaning towards refinancing my house.

Interesting information.. so the rents are based typical long term leases?

Pending sales are a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings.

So, if your contract is based on a calendar month, you giving notice in mid-June would then legally be effective at the end of July.Do you have tenant contact info?

If you can house hack and buy a property every year for the next 5 years in areas with strong appreciation you'll be well on your way to building equity.

I would evaluate the decision to add a balcony based on economics and the ability to attract good tenants alone.

The point to my comment is that when comparing equally a quality trainer and a quality forum IMHO the trainer will trump the forum.The knowledge base of the forum is so vast that without specific direction from a quality trainer an investor will be a little lost and may take the wrong direction to accomplish their personal goals.

In the beginning stages of organizing a Schaumburg based meet up.

As someone who works with a lot of out of state investors, Columbus is a top investment spot with strong job growth (Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide) and a growing population. 

Prices are still going up but demand is now dropping substantially because, without the foreigners' money pouring in, it's likely not sustainable and demand is dropping strongly at the moment.