Paying off loans or saving up for an investment property are great ways to set up for the future.

More people want to invest than ever before.

If you have switched jobs and your retirement is in an IRA vs. 401k, maybe consider rolling it into a self-directed account to invest in other people's deals with that money (aka private money lender, syndications, etc.)

As much as I wanted to make something in Texas work, there was just too much demand from 2nd home buyers that drove up prices to a point where investment returns, even in 2021-2022, were tight (vacation home buyers that didn't care about the investment return and just wanted a beach/lake/hill country home for personal use). 

There are no laws, rules or regulations preventing any foreigner, American or otherwise, to buy property in CDMX or Mexico for that matter.If, by having success, you mean getting a profitable investment, I'm sure many American and other investors got that over the last few years (I personally haven't since I've focused my efforts on Mexico's beach markets, which are far better in my opinion.

But everything I've read says you can't actually get a HELOC on a rental property in Texas.We're also not really interested in refinancing the Texas home - as we've got a 2.5% rate on it and any refinance at current rents would turn it into a cash-flow negative asset.Anyway - we think if we moved some other investments around we might be able to find the $137K to pay off the loan outright - owning the land. 

While I am impressed with your enthusiasm, the reality of getting a project done and for a proper return on investment, whatever your investors may be looking for, is difficult.

My wife and I are looking into investing in short term rentals in vacation markets surrounding NYC (Catskills, Adirondacks, Poconos, etc) and just wanted to check if anyone here might have some insights they could share.

hello my name is Moses I want to create wealth so i can have freedom to seek other pursuits

This is a really great long-term investment in the details, so I'm very flexible with what needs to happen to get the property.