So excited to have my first property and I plan to hold for the long term.

And could save capital gain tax on first 500K profit .

I am totally on board with Tom that the tax code if applied wisely can save us a lot of taxes.  

In terms of cash reserves outside of that we don't have anything substantial saved (our savings went to the earnest money) so our priority is to pay down the HELOC and increase income.

if you plan to use it as a 2nd home as well as lease it out, conventional loan will allow you to just put 10% down. 

I got my Realtor license a few years ago thinking i could save the commission and get access to more deals.

I plan on doing more research on Bigger Pockets, but any overall advice is great. 

Yes a judge can still proceed with the sale even with a suggestion of BK and the only way a judge can stop it typically is if the borrower files a temporary restraining order, which lasts 15-30 days and must be a valid reason - the reason of "I am going to file BK" is not a valid reason to give a TRO as the borrower can file BK and then has time to complete submitting their plan. 

My friend and I plan to partner up for this REI journey.

I was looking for an individual that may have more experience in my specific market that can offer suggestions or advice with my projected plans.