Here's why I waited:Visa Uncertainty: With a temporary visa like an F1 CPT or even an H1B, there’s always a chance that, due to lottery outcomes or policy changes, the path to a green card could be delayed or not happen at all.

Since I was born and raised in Phoenix, I figured I'd start there. 

I recently considered switching to KeyCheck but decided to stick with RR for two important reasons: 1) RR allows for weekly rent collection, which is recommended by my real estate attorney, and 2) RR has lower credit card processing fees for tenants.

Quote from @Chinelo Ononye: Hello, I am Chinelo Ononye born and raised in Atlanta, my home is Chicago but planning my move to Dallas. 

Should I just raise it a little per year to get it closer?

That said, a good place to start for many investors is with Lowes/Home Depot credit cards.

It is legal as long as you use a convenience check from card #2 for the amount owed on card #1 into your bank account and then write the check from your bank account to pay off card#1.

I am thinking of raising this to $500 and also increasing the refundable deposit by a few hundred. 

They operate like a credit card - when you are not using the money you don’t accumulate interest, when you are using the money you accumulate interest and need to make monthly payments.

slightly different question than what you asked maybe, but how were you able to raise ~$1-3M (?)