Rental 1 - Cash flow Breakeven - rate 3.875% - 20-25% equity (not looking to refi)Rental 2 - Looses about a few hundred a month - rate 9% looking to refinance soon to 6.9% but debating on waiting until rates drop further - 5-8% equityPrimary - currently at 7.25% waiting to refi to 5.5-6% - about 5-10% EquityMy current net worth breakdown is approximately...Real estate 39%Cash reserves 7.5%Brokerage 30%Retirement 17.5%Other 6%

What follows will probably sound somewhat pessimistic - but I put it out there for your consideration...Understand that your journey will be a long one, as real estate is usually not a get rich quick game.  

FB and virtual RE groups are a great resource for networking with other local real estate professionals.

How are people holding security deposits in NC?

In my financial statement to the tenant concerning the deposit I itemized all the deductions. 

I’m a real estate agent based in South Carolina, where I specialize in off-market deals and work closely with investors.

After 45 + years investing in, purchasing and selling notes and real property; structuring “deals”, running investment funds and syndications, I have observed that many (most) investors both hesitate too long gathering too much information before making an offer AND do not do enough investigation, analysis and due diligence before they finalize a purchase.Seems like opposites, right?  

You may want to research now how the country taxes different types of investments(Equity, bonds, real estate, etc)That can tell you potentially what investments to have.The issue with potentially becoming a US citizen is that they will tax you on worldwide income.Therefore, if you get the citizenship and move out of the US, you may want to see if you would be exposed to US taxes, whether you will want to move back to the US and if you want to renounce your US citizenship.I agree that if you are not sure of living in the US, you may want to avoid doing items such as having a large balance in a retirement account that may be considered taxable by another country when you retire.Best of luck

A deposit gives them an incentive to take care of the unit and potentially have the deposit returned to them. 

A deposit is standard for DD and maybe to pay for the appraisal.