If your certain you are doing this I would recommend just doing a cash out on your properties, around mid 7's.. having the funds available and put them into a savings account earning 4-5%..

I'd recommend the latter for someone starting out-- you could use a 203k loan which helps you finance rehab costs into your loan.

Does anyone recommend investing in this area?

Hi Alexander, On a full documentation loan, lenders will allow up to a 95% combined loan to value on a primary residence assuming income is strong enough to support your debt to income ratio and reserve requirements are met. 

@Mike Liu there's always a tradeoff between risk & reward.If you want higher cashflow, you'll need to get into riskier investments.STRs are riskier than LTR due to: saturation, changing local government regulations, more intense time required, etc..Regarding LTR higher cashflow:If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.So, when investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

Have you tried calling the AC manufacturer, confirming it’s under warranty and asking them for a list of recommended dealers?    

Having a license doesn't bestow magically knowledge on yourself.Most brokerages require that you complete a certain number of transactions under the guidance of other agents for a reason. 

@Grayson GrzybowskiI recommend checking out the BRRRR calculator. https://www.biggerpockets.com/brrrr-calculatorThis will show you the key metrics before and after refinancing a property.

I would recommend reaching out to hosts in the areas you are looking at and see how it has been for them.

Even though it's one loan (and if you use FHA financing a low interest loan at that) FHA parameters view it as you owning two properties - one your primary and one an investment property.When you sell, if you have met the residency requirements of the primary side you will get that gain tax free up to the 250/500K limits.