RDU is a great market for appreciation, my focus is to get close to breakeven, make it sustainable, and ride that wave, eventually cashflow with future refi(s) and or by using value add strategies.

If you are strapped on cash and have the ability to save a lot of money in the near future, a fixxer upper might be a good option.

Cons include having to deal with future rate unpredictability and paying extra interest over the course of the loan.

SSM could be promising in the long run and despite its not so nice history, the future seems bright! 

The loss created by your deductions will be locked and pushed into future years.

Really think through what you want in life and what you can do with your current and future real estate to move you toward that. 

I want to access the equity in my home for other cash flowing assets w/goals of maximizing the spread btwn the interest I'm paying on the HELOC and the interest I'm earning on the asset.One major downside is most HELOCs are adjustable rate, and I'm certain rates will be increasing even more in the near future, so finding a bank that has a rate-lock option is my hedge.I've looked into this strategy a lot, seen the comparison numbers, and am still looking into different utilization strategies. 

Hi Rafael,Generally you are expected to live there for a year.

Expect to pay WSJ Prime + 1 point or therabouts from a traditional bank on interest and 1 point for the origination whereas you will be a few points higher on the origination and the rate through an atlernative lender.

How bad were the large items that might need to be repaired in the future (roof, furnace, sewer line, etc).