I would spend your time doing what you're doing now: learning, before you spend that money. spend some time deciding what your strategy will be, both long and short term.

Good luck on whatever decision you decide.

I have decided to take the plunge, stop building for other developers and do it for myself. 

For that reason if they decided to screw me I was okay with it.

I looked into it more and decided to run a calculation and report on the Flip Calculator.

I am not a licensed agent but I went through the classes but ultimately decided not to take the test because I just wanted MLS access. 

I went through this process when I decided where to retire.At a high level, I used financial media, Wikipedia, and local news (many TV stations stream their local news broadcasts) to select a state and city.At the neighborhood level, I used CrimeReports to get a feel for crime and real estate listings to get a feel for the type of housing in the zip code.Then it's boots on the ground to home in on a specific choice.

I want to be a successful RE investor, but I cannot decide if it would be better to become a Real Estate investor with or without a license? 

This will normally result in less upfront/annual filing fees.ExampleProperty is in NY and LLC is formed in NY - Will result in paying fees to NYProperty is in NY and you initially form LLC in MA - You will be required to register the LLC in NY resulting in fees to NY and MA.If you decide to choose to acquire properties in FL and WI - The LLC would be required to register to do business in those states.Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Trying to decide if I should sell enough Apple stock for 15-20% down on the new property or do a cash-out refi on the Alexandria property.