Me personally, I'm hanging on to this and refinancing when the rates come down at some point. 

They will allow your mortgage payment and any personal debt payments (credit cards, cars, etc) to reach about 45% of your monthly income.Programs vary all over the place so it's best to ask a mortgage broker which programs you qualify for.They like two years on the job, rent paid on time, no liens or judgments, pay stubs, tax returns and so on.FHA has a 3.5% down program plus closing costs.

My next step after posting this is to reach out to a few similar hosts for the style of property I am looking to invest in and see how well they do on a personal level.

Find a group or person that can give you both education and mentoring. 

Right now, I’m currently working on raising funds for my first deal :) If you or anyone you know Is looking to invest with competitive terms, let me know!

But I get it if you can invest 500.00 U certainly cant buy whole notes or secured positions with such a small amount. becomes a personal decisions make 7.5% with risk of losing it all or buy T bills for about 5% with zero risk.. its up to the individual investors.

It also takes a personal guarantee from the borrower.  

Damages are tenant funded repairs.

Even if you have to pay a bit more now and have CF decreased, you will get the funds to continue deals and can reposition later. 

For my personal investment journey I have done flips, buy and hold, BRRR, and wholesale.