Also, I was fortunate enough to work for several years at a company where I racked up a lot of reimbursable business expenses. 

Fortunately, I am a Realtor albeit a new one but the resources are still there I just need to learn to leverage it.I am considering a HELOC in conjunction with Hard Money.

Its in a rural area that would be difficult to maintain tenants, I've been fortunate to only have had 2 tenants in the past 6 years. 

I was fortunate enough to save up another 20%, buy a home and moved to the suburbs with my family.  

I read posts on here about lending trouble and I realize how fortunate we are.

In my opinion this is thee BEST coaching  and mentoring program I have ever  had the  good fortune  of experiencing .  

I wouldn't let anyone pressure them into this, but using good fortune to benefit those that you love is very rewarding.

Less fortunate are Cleveland, Phoenix and much of Florida, where prices are still at least 26 percent below where they were before the bubble burst.However, examining the data in real terms tells a different story: adjusted for inflation, home prices remain nearly 20% below their pre-crisis peak.

Fortunately, I bought at the bottom, and in 10 years, prices tripled, and I got out OK.So you'll have to find out about these two issues before you spend time checking out cash flow etc.

Fortunately for us, the market in Columbus has greatly appreciated since 2010.