We can get a second home without putting anything down (VA loan), move into the school district we want and a much nicer home for our growing family:Current home (want to rent this out):One of the largest lots in the area 1/100 lots in an area with 1000's of properties that has navigable water which is our water, at 2.75%, 280k remaining $1650/month, rents $3000 mom will be lending 25k over 5 years at $500/mo payments, and we will use a property manager $300/mo = rental take home of $550/mo incomenew home (hypothetical estimates):$550k @ 7%, paying ~$3300/moWe will have a period of 9 months starting Dec 2024 where we would be at about -$100 where our older daughter goes to pre-k for $1150/mo and infant is in daycare for $1650/mo.

Someone who has missed 2 payments vs someone who’s home is about to go up for action next week.

I know all about fees, charges, payments, etc.

Any property that is listed on a Realtor owned MLS, regardless if the agent is a Realtor themselves, will have to sign a buyer agency agreement if they want to be shown a property in the MLS.The DOJ is likely to also impose this rule on non-Realtor MLS systems as well, but we arnt quite there yet.

Establish an emergency fund, manage your debt, and save for a down payment to lay the groundwork for your financial future.

Even if you create a non-CA LLC, if you are managing the business from California, you will likely be deemed to be "doing business" in California and therefore likely subject to CA taxes.

Instead, you might ask a portfolio lender if they'd forego the down payment if you give them a second lien position on the other property as additional collateral.

Hard money, and I sold my car to pay for the down payment How did you add value to the deal?

You can easily qualify for a dscr (no tax return, no dti, no proof of income) loan, cash-out, use that equity for down-payment on other STR's.  

So most VA and FHA buyers won't have extra money to pay a buyer's agent commission when they are coming up with a down payment and closing costs.