I literally just finished teaching a CE class for realtors on this 15 minutes ago.The key of course is that the primary residence exemption can be available as long as you've lived in it for 2 out of the previous 5 years. 

In theory, you could cash-flow negatively on these loans and still be okay, so long as you have the credit score, assets, and a pulse.Hope this helps!

They usually do though, as long as you're prepared to look harder than most. 

But as long as you owner occupy all of the above could be used for anything from a SFR up to a 4 unit MFR.As far as which is best...that depends.

It sounds like a cash out refinance may be the way to go as long as the funds are put to good use.

My biggest concern was being able to still claim residence in Texas but after some research it looks like we can claim residency as long as we keep our van registered here, have Texas driver’s license, and have the intent to return to tx after our travels.

As long as you're not exceeding market rents, tenants will not leave due to an annual increase.

As long as you are paying that HELOC back after you buy your next property it's a great method. 

It was my understanding that I could do that as long as I didn't have more than one FHA at a time.

As long as you have a solid team in place then you should be able to succeed in any market.