(A girl can only hope)  My ultimate goal is financial freedom, of course!

Curious about why you chose those neighborhoods, says this Chic's Beach girl. 

I was dead broke so I pulled the down payment off a credit card and used that to get the house.

You’re definitely not the first person to say that and I appreciate how you broke down what you’ve gotten out of your local REÍ group.

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

They broke the lease after 3 months so they don't "owe" you because they have not "lived" in the property for 3 months. 

If the IRS says you broke the rules the entire IRA may be disallowed.   

I would echo what @Jay Hinrichs just pointed out -- there are ways to go about getting into real estate if you're broke but most of them are not good ways with a reasonable probability of success, especially in an expensive, highly-regulated area like most of Connecticut. 

You will just go broke!" 

On goes another wax ring for the toilet, new toilet flange bolts since the originals broke (is there a trend here?)