Improve Efficiency – By classifying and identifying the various components of your property, a cost segregation study can help you maintain and manage the property more effectively in the long run.

He them procede to tell me it had hair line crack and that possibly the water was leaking from there and that it was a wear and tear because those pans only last so long. 

You are in a solid market that should appreciate over the long term.

As long as it makes sense that you are "moving up" it's good.

As far as tapping into the equity without doing a refinance, we offer some great HELOC products which are especially good for funding short term deals like ground up constructions or fix and flips.  

Knowing my goals, which are to hold on to real estate as long as I can, I would go the HELOC route. 

How we react in those critical moments determines our long-term success.

Lenders will typically only give credit per the terms of the agreement and any realized appreciation while renting will not be considered down payment (although will still benefit the renter/buyer greatly) 

It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.6.

I rent on my terms and my conditions, period.