My first property was a Single-Family home right before the pandemic in late 2018. 

For my 3+ bedroom homes I house traveling or relocating families, work crews, and displaced families.

First time investor here, taking equity out of my home (bad idea?) 

(*Ive never done one, and am scared to death for how I would negotiate such a deal, but it's my preference for starting my new investment strategy)Questions:1. 

I am one but my firm doesnt have mls. i want to learn how it works in nyc and need api access to put it into my crm

I've typically asked my agent to pull comps in the area and then look VERY closely at their condition and sales price.

With the exception of finding the tenants (I use an agent) I manage all maintenance aspects of the property but am coming to a point where I might want to move on and considering doing a 1031 exchange to of course avoid Cap Gains and invest in another property closer to my primary residence.

My long term goal is to buy and hold several properties.

If anyone currently doing this in my area is willing to share their experience or help point me in the right direction of a stellar real estate agent to help me find my first deal it would be much appreciated!!

Here's my latest curveball:Tenant calls me to report a mold problem.