To succeed in hard money lending, know your local market well, value properties accurately, and carefully evaluate borrowers.

I wanted to secure a property in Savannah, because of how much the market is growing.

There has been some hesitation for me to sell due to the fact the rental market here is averaging $2,500 in rent for my area and property, I make great money now and have funds to cover vacancy and repairs on the home, but I would like to be able to afford a nice rental for my fiance and I to live in while we save for our primary residence.Shoild I sell and take my profits (60-70k net) and throw into an investment closer to where I will be living or should I rent, cash flow and build equity in the property. 

My partner and I are fresh into the real estate investment market and want to learn as much as possible.

My current primary ( scenario 1) Keep the primary for the life of the loan ( current rate is 4.5 so i dont see my self refinancing anytime soon)current home value 1,150,000Loan amount 935,000appreciation estimate 5% per year after a 28 year hold and the house is paid off I would have a house worth 4,312,000$my current mortgage is 6125$ ( piti) included My second option( scenario 2) Sell the house, walk away with $150 ,000 ish in hand and put that into a low cost index fund Rent a house elsewhere for about 3000$ ish and take the extra 3000$ im saving everymonths from not having to pay my mortgage and puting that money in the index fund as well I ran the numbers on both of these scenarios and doing what I mentioned above would break even at about 28 years meaning my stock account would be worth 4.3 million just like my house would , but the only is that holding a house for 28 year would mean 28 years of property taxes, loan interest ,home insurance and repairs etc whick I calculated to be about 1,200,000$ at minimum which raised my eyebrows to say the least Also i understand that each of these options ( stock market vs real estate ) will have there tax consequences ( long term capital gains) so any thoughts on that would be appreciated as well.  

If not I would be paying market prices.

It is still advisable to see what is on the local market and see what is selling as you develop your plan to renovate a property. 

Every market is different, but for the long term assumptions.

Let me know if you are interested in out-of-state investing in the Memphis, TN market!

You paid the market price and own the liability.