(2) Using the equity, we would ideally want to stagger buying our investments properties over 6 - 18 months (vs. all at once) At the same time, take advantage of the low interest rates in today's market.

-Save extra money-Take advantage of low to zero down mortgages-Make use of your retirement plan-Find a roommate-Cut back on non-essentialsWhich one(s) have you implemented?

Almost all the sleazier ones try to take advantage of it.

I am a do it yourself investor. Mostly single family home, buy and hold as passive activity. I was considering getting a SalesPerson license, mostly to allow me flexibility to1. Write my own offers2. Flexibility of no...

Although relators tell you people buy houses year round it is an advantage to sell after the holidays at minimum and not in the dead of winter in Wisconsin.   

They know you are OOS and will take advantage of you as long as you let them. 

It is usually far less expensive to do the rehab.....in my experience...you can even do a 'to the studs' remodel for less than new buildSometimes it is advantageous to keep a portion of the old house to conform with setbacks....don't know if this applies to you?

this is what I see as some of the advantages of umbrella policies:No need to isolate finances as can be the case with other protection mechanisms. 

They changed the rules a number of years back and I don't know the details but it seemed like they made it much less advantageous to investors. 

The advantages here are that we know the area very well and we save on the management fee which is huge.On the other side, I'm sure many of these types of 'bright ideas' get in the middle of personal relationships.