There is something to be said about having the house cleaned weekly and having access to it regularly. 

This is where appreciation comes in- as your property goes up in value, that means you have access to more equity.

We want to be nearer to my wife's family, and we are hoping getting started as RE investors will be more accessible there. 

Since we will be using it as Section 8, chances are the room that it is located in would go to a child, and I would rather not have to deal with giving a child access to a sink in their carpeted room.

You’ll find plenty of friendly, knowledgeable people willing to help respond to your questions.I really like the alerts feature that can quickly guide you to current topics that may be of interest: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

The upside is we have unlimited access to funds for rehabs.

Currently, I have access and have completed some of the Adventures in Commercial Real Estate Accelerator Program, an extensive real estate financial modeling course, covering topics and modeling such as direct cap, key risk/return metrics, income statements (retail, hotel, office, multifamily, industrial), leases, waterfall models, acquisitions/development models, etc.

Hi Salvador, you can definitely access equity in an investment property.

They often get access to properties that are not listed anywhere.

He will have access to this program with very competitive rates.