I also have rented a room to a friend in the past who later became unable to pay.

You might take a stab at running a calculator that's a bit more in depth then one that just uses the 50% rule, it's good experience estimating the various expenses, and then later seeing what they actually are.

I only had one other bidder who I later found out was actually a neighbor!  

Buy a duplex for $100k that you can BRRRR.   ...a year later, you move out of this one, and buy another duplex.

We hired an attorney to defend against this frivolous lawsuit and $4k in legal fees later, we won (it was ruled that the contract was clear), and we countered for legal fees.

If the property looks bad the neighbors would likely want it fixed up sooner than later.

With the exception of a HELOC, that was 3 days later and I wasn't happy at all. :)Do a quick search on here for books, you'll see MANY of the same titles popping up from post.  

What would be the best route later to leverage this property and how much could I pull out if i refinanced (also 75% or 75k cash)?

It starts at 6:00 PM (though you can arrive later) and ends around 9:00 PM or later.

But I'm starting the next chapter of my goals, I started my RE licensing a little later than I wanted but I guess later is better then never.