But, we did it and have some serious equity in our house now because of it.This is when things start to get crazy.  

Locking equity from another asset as collateral.

To do a buy - to - let here in the u.k it requires a 20% deposit which is a lot and requires around £3k of fees in total per property.To give you an idea of numbers I’m buying the property at about10-15k BMV and with a little work inside I know there is 20k of equity in the house .

@Maugno Mora have you thought about doing a Home Equity Line of Credit instead of selling or refinancing?  

I would locate interested sellers who have >40% equity in their SFH and do not have a contract with a RE professional to sell their house.

I remember a BP Podcast where the guest was speaking about a single commercial loan that wrapped a few properties and also had an equity line of credit attached that he could draw from.

I have a SFH in SoCal that I want to sell as I have a ton of equity but is making bumpkiss.

Assumptions: Lowest Appraisal Loan INCOME AND RATE OF RETURN Purchase Price 154,900.00 Loan Amount 123,920.00 Down Payment 30,980.00 Estimated Annnual Gross Rents 15,540.00 Estimated Annual Equity Paydown 1,700.18 Estimated Annual Principal & Interest ($8,350.19) Estimated Annual Property Taxes ($3,000.00) Estimated Annual Homeowners Insurance ($746.78) Estimated Annual HOA Dues $0.00 Estimated Annual Management Fees ($1,877.75) Utility costs to be paid by landlord (if any) Annual $0.00 Lawn mainteannce costs to be paid by landlord (if any) Annual $0.00 Indirect Vacancy Allowance Annual ($) ($155.40) Repair Allowance Annual ($) ($621.60) Misc. bucket for costs per month Annual ($60.00) Estimated Annual Net Expenses ($14,811.72) SUMMARY OF RETURNS Estimated Annual Gross Income $2,428.46 Estimated Monthly Gross Income $202.37 Estimated Annual Gross ROI 7.84% ESTIMATE OF CASH FLOW Loan Amount 123,920.00 Interest Rate 5.40% Loan Term in Months 360 Estimated Principal & Interest ($695.85) Estimated Monthly Taxes ($250.00) Estimated Monthly Homeowners Insurance ($62.23) Estimated Monthly HOA Dues $0.00 Estimated Monthly - MISC ($69.75) Estimated Monthly Management Fees ($156.48) SUMMARY OF CASH FLOW Estimated Monthly Gross Cash Flow $60.69

Buying in LA because I want to be building equity, not paying rent.Fear of market reversal.

As you have planned, as you start accumulating more and more equity, it would be a good idea to get an LLC and properly manage the LLC to get the desired protection.