But her primary point, that there is plenty of money to be made investing in her high-priced area, is extremely valid.

I intend to relocate to the Rapid City, SD region in April/May for work, and I plan to acquire a primary residence that could eventually be transformed into an investment property.

FEMA would only worry about the one that was considered my "primary". 

This would make it into two, two bedroom units with the intent of making them long term rentals.I'm guilty of having a lot of projects going at once so my focus right now is bringing the cottage to a point to refinance out of the private money and either make it our primary residence for a year for the financing perks or to go straight into a short term rental.With the four bedroom house I'm trying to decide if it's worth splitting into two units or if I should keep it a four bedroom rental.The cottage I'm also tempted to do mid term with to lower the turnover and maintenance but open to suggestions.The third property I'll probably just let the current renters pay the mortgage for the time being if I'm able to acquire it anytime soon.

Remember not to discount your primary home as an investment.

You have to think about a HELOC for what it is also, a second loan on your primary residence.

I bought under a secondary mortgage (don’t have a primary mortgage but 3 hours from where I live) and I put 10% down at 6.25%.

Primary Conventional 15% down.

So, if interest rates are a buyer’s primary roadblock, then I recommend negotiating a rate buydown at a seller’s expense or looking at new construction, where builders are offering rate reductions and other substantial incentives.What if I’m a seller?

This video below has the best explanation I've seen, even though the podcaster is still a fan boy.