@Matthew M Spolsky know/remember your “why”.For me, RE investing is my main retirement vehicle of choice but it’s really about my responsibility to provide for the future needs of my family and most importantly ensure my wife is taken care of.

pentagon federal, va, and the one in melbourne, fl, popular... cant remember the name..i hear helocs are tight right now 

But, regardless the situation or circumstance, in life you only have 2 CHOICES, MOVE FORWARD or GET LEFT BEHIND.I am really interested in learning real estate, and feel like I am ready for the next step, but I fear that it couldn't have come at a more un-opportune time due to everything going on, and I have been stopped in my tracks.

Thanks to everyone who offered input, seems like the smart choice here is to save more cash without getting any more leveraged! 

A lot of choices for this too.It's very uncommon for the mixer valve housing to go bad (they can leak but don't often break)The joys of home ownership...

It’s also a good look being proactive and taking these steps early - it will build your credibility with them.I saw Chattanooga is the area you’re wanting to invest in - great choice!

I started looking into Chicago IL because multi-families are quite popular there and its a pretty hot real estate market.However, this would be my first property.

I would stack my money up, and purchase a few of the popular BP books that @Brandon Turner has written.

@Benjamin Papet the primary purpose for BRRRR is to help build your portfolio so the refinancing step is intended to accomplish a couple things: 1) affords you with lowering the cost of debt and 2) most importantly, it provides you with the funds for your next deal, hence the "repeat" step.There is a delicate balance with how much debt and leverage you should have so that is a personal choice based on your affinity for risk and how much reserve you have.  

You see I have a choice whether to self manage or to hire a managing company.