Meaning you may be able to do some cosmetic or smaller renovations like bathrooms or kitchens in your duplex when the tenants turn over and those smaller investments can demand higher rents, so in the longterm you may have more cashflow from the duplex to help fund a future investment in another property while you wait for market conditions to change.

For future reference, what @Charles Carillo said is very good advice.

This tells us that the tenant may be struggling financially and will have even more trouble paying the rent in the future.

They are about to move out and I’m nervous to rent to a stranger in the future with this same policy.

That does not require employment or job seasoning instead it uses the rents to qualify and you can take out up to 80% LTV cash.Use the cash to put down on the next 1-2 or more properties as long as the other properties are debt servicing themselves it opens up more opportuities to buy more future assets and increase your passice income.  

I'm trying to start off with something closer to Houston as my first property, but will keep College station in mind for the future. 

Both properties have a substantial amount of equity that’s essentially sitting idle.Would it be a good idea to tap into this equity (through a HELOC, cash-out refinance, etc.) to fund future fix-and-flip projects or purchase additional rental properties?

Even with trump's aggressive plans for mass deportation and border security, I also have to think long term about future presidents' agendas towards border control too, and anticipate potential presidents being more loose on border security.

Both properties have a substantial amount of equity that’s essentially sitting idle.Would it be a good idea to tap into this equity (through a HELOC, cash-out refinance, etc.) to fund future fix-and-flip projects or purchase additional rental properties?

Hi Everyone, My name is Moustafa and since my wife and I just got married we are looking more into our future to be FI.