I keep hearing/reading "you make money when you buy; not when you sell".

There are so many from Cali and Canada and NY who talk about trying/wanting to build rental portfolios in Chicago because they read cap rates are great on the south side.Here is a Chicagoan wanting to go to Michigan for the same reason.I don't know what/who is telling all these people that the grass is greener somewhere else or that being an out of town landlord is easy, but.....it isn't.

Feel free to leave feedback and advice.I greatly appreciate it 

I have been reading and absorbing all that I can.

I read about the 10x rule in one of @Brandon Turner's books, and it was a lightbulb moment for me!

I found BiggerPockets from reading "The Book on Investing In Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down: Real Life Strategies for Investing in Real Estate Using Other People's Money".

Perhaps I'm missing something with how hard money lending works (i've been reading about it but it still seems confusing and not viable to me but I could easily be wrong...)ya the other option is I stay in this house and do a cash out refinance or HELOC but, again, it just doesn't bring enough cash in to really do much with.  

I also just downloaded a bunch of podcasts so I can listen to them while doing my day job.I've read The Ultimate Beginner's guide and I'm going to look it over again for a little extra help (since you mentioned it) & see what I can pull from that as well.

One thing's for sure, I laughed when I read that the lender is going to write off the balance in the hopes of repeat business.

After I finish reading the Ultimate Guide to REI from BP I plan on finding mentors to help me further my education even if it means relocating to a different place.