Also, we have more and more people working in Asheville while living in Waynesville, which seems to make it a better equity play than Maggie as well (i.e., for resale, you can hope to have owner occupant buyers as well).

I expect values to continue to rise.The last option would be to sell the house and collect my equity. 

The one thing that would be an unrepairable negative for me is something that you actually mentioned as a positive: the K-5 school across the street.

Jumping into real estate investment, especially at such a thoughtful and exciting time in your lives with a new baby, sounds like a great move, especially with the equity you have available through your HELOC.

I see a lot of positive posts about the application, so maybe I'm missing something? 

I am also skilled in painting, woodworking, restoring, installing fixtures, ect, so I'd be doing a lot of sweat equity myself.

This helps ensure you can manage payments even if the property isn't generating income right away.Given your situation, if you're aiming for an investment property and have about 3 months of PITI saved up, you're likely in a good position for a conventional loan.

Is it simply that the amount of capital each LP invests is proportional to the overall equity split? 

He mentions that --> Cash Flow Isn’t the Only Benefit of Real Estate / The Outlook for Rent Growth is Positive / Expenses Growth is Slowing / Interest Rates Will Come Down, and There Won’t Be a Major Recession.So, who's it gonna be ?

If you're keeping the properties all through the downturn and collecting cash flow, the prices will eventually bounce back up and your ROI will go back into positive territory.