If the house you live in is a conventional loan, you can still obtain an FHA loan but you will need to live in the new home for 1 year.I would recommend that you use a HELOC only if you can refinance the money back after repairs (forced appreciation) to repay the HELOC off.

I currently live in California but in my current situation prices are too high for me to get in. I

Ya don, in I f. 

But I also am not an expert in I/O lengths lenders have given in recent history (last 10-15 years)Do you feel the 36 months of I/O in five years is realistic or aggressive?

The advice about investing "...in cities that I would want to spend time in" is questionable.

@Forrest FaulconerYou should be able to cash out refinance much of that equity value without moving back in. I

However, the amount of water that comes in is really not that bad and if it's cleaned up appropriately, it doesn't really cause any issues because most of the basement is dry and we know not to store anything that can't get wet in those specific spots.Looking for advice!

@Jordan Moorhead yah that’s for sure what I’m interested in I know how to do a lot of the work myself

You need to clarify what area you want to be in. I

Try Craigslist for the region of NY you are interested in.  I