Where in FL are you focusing on?

Main focus at this point is to soak in as much as I can on the topic of RE investing, specifically multi family while at the same time connecting with as many investors as possible. 

So, I decided to focus more on passive investing.

Ima gonna do that) mentality, hire the experts in their field and focus on BUILDING the business.

As an example of why you can't predict appreciation goes up with a single factor like interest rates, just look at the last 10 years - most areas have experienced tremendous growth in appreciation yet interest rates have stayed low.It sounds like your goal is to buy and hold, in which case I would just focus on buying in good locations, make sure you have strong cash flow, and lock in your interest rate with 30 year mortgages. 

From there, I intend to pursue a buy and hold strategy, ideally focusing on small multi-family units.

The trick is to focus on the damaged area and hold still for two seconds so you get a good, clean shot of it that can be saved as a photo.

Also, I am focusing on the DuPage market so far because of my accessibility. 

I saw your profile and I'm also a singer/songwriter but have turned my focus primarily on real estate.

The confusion comes from focusing on an incomplete sentence about HELOC: "not deductible."