When you draw from the HELOC it functions similar to a credit card, so the trap can be that you pull a lot from the HELOC and your debt to income ratio is skewed, which makes it difficult to refinance out.  

Purchase price: $205,000 Cash invested: $13,800 BLUF: Purchased primary residence had a roommate and now a fully functional rental.

The moral of the story- if there is that much competition for a property, it's worth whatever someone actually pays for it, appraisal is only a function of getting the loan from the bank, not actual value.

If you buy a functional but dated home and replace the 40 year old heating system with a new heating system you have improved the house, but you may have spent $10k to improve the value $8-10k.

Another one to lookup on Facebook is the Active CHS REI Meeting group. you will see alot of the same people there as you will see in the tri-county group and the REI Central group which is even better because you start to grow a bond with the fellow investors as you see them at different meetups and functions.

Not an ad… we just really like the functionality and price. 

We are renting the property now and I know we have to meet the 1031 guidelines to do the exchange.The motivation for the sale is he needs care right now and I would like to have a larger more functional house available for him to be cared for.Maybe there is another method to minimize capital gains taxes that make it easier to sell and keep the property 19 tax base ?

My question is does the boiler need to be replaced because it is on it's last leg or does it no longer function. 

I am a designer in the greater Philadelphia area, and would love to partner up with anyone interested in improving their functionality and aesthetic with their properties.   

I think there's a reasonable argument to be made that certain RE is a better hedge than gold, silver or other hedge assets because it can serve a legitimate useful function (providing housing) and is not easily stolen.