That was one of my bigger mistakes when I was getting going...I tried to do everything myself as opposed to bringing people on my team that had already done it....so I learned the hard way but I like to say I suffered so you don't have! 

East bay is still suffering from the effects of 2008. 

The rental market is suffering, you are better off putting a long term tenant in place. 

Once that sale is done, the lender no longer faces any market exposure to the risk associated with the world we are in.By contrast, there is no secondary market for HELOCs at all, and the lender remains fully exposed to all risks (of you suffering job loss in a recession, and so on) for the life of that HELOC.The following metaphor is a bit of a stretch, but given the impact of current public policy on the gov't balance sheet, we more or less have to go back to WW2 to find something similar in scale.The year is 1943.

Some of the world's biggest industries are going to suffer for at least two more years, and maybe more, particularly aviation and carmaking.

New home sales are also suffering from a lack of finished homes waiting for buyers.

Also note that zoning changes will take a while and they may ask for an arm and a leg for some of of the changes ( just to change from Commercial to residential on ground floor, I had to plant trees (7.5k total cost digging, their special grates are 1K per tree), use a certain type of siding  (Hardy) that cost a lot of money).

In the investigation, there had been "plants" used to determine if he was treating minority applicants different from Caucasian applicants.  

There's time to work those other areas as you get started and bloom where you've planted seeds.I wish you all the best.

One of the major employers, Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant, started to shutdown in May of this year and as it closes down it takes with it many jobs for people in the area.