In the end, there are only so much funds to access and invest and maintain a healthy debt to asset ratio.Ideally, given how amazing the SF Area is, you should be holding on to all your Bay Area assets for the longer term but I feel at this point in the cycle, best to cash out and buy your dream home that suits your family needs.

Most of the time you create profit in a flip by buying a highly distressed asset & adding value by making it livable.How has real state changed your life? 

Three months after closing the interpreter approaches my client with a piece of paper and told him he needed to sign it in order for hm to obtain financing for a home. 

In the end, if one is lucky enough then the ideal portfolio in my mind should have a mix of these high profile city investments (SF, NYC, London etc) and a holding for cash flow generating assets in lesser known cities that get discussed here on BP.

Is it possible to obtain a variable-rate loan on the HELOC, so it "hopefully" is cheaper, and if interest rates rise, you make it your priority to pay that off ASAP?

Peter would depend what your current liquidity and net worth is along with your annual income from your job/business/current investments etc.Different assets are cycling at different points in time in different states.2009 was mainly coming off the bottom for the lower priced SFR assets. 

As a 20 year old, you have the most valuable asset, which is time. 

I want to know if you have bought through the court house in FL, and when you obtained a Certificate of Title as being the high winner, were you able to sell it with a General warranty or Special warranty title ?

Maybe that seems like a lot to offer but my thoughts are a few thousand dollars is minor when considering the life of ownership of this asset. 

Besides attending to the myriad of questions, requests, and issues with tenants and the property, a good PM will provide liability protection with legal knowledge, asset protection with a tight lease, and increased ROI with simply smart management.