I think the world is moving towards a need for a person to have to have multiple streams of income even if one wants to buy Real Estate. 

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Friday overturned a lower-court ruling from 2023 that had quashed the Justice Department’s request for information from N.A.R. about broker commissions and how real estate listings are marketed.https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/05/realestate/doj-realtors-n...Given that the lawsuit no longer requires members to be members of nar or the local mls’s I’m not sure the doj can really move the needle anymore than the settlement in the sitzer case by farther going after nar, to the extent they want farther changes, it’s probably wrangling state licensing boards.

Buy a buy & hold with no value add with a HELOC would be a risky move unless you have the income to pay down the HELOC. 

Not all agents will have your best interests in mind so protect yourself.That leap you take to start a change in your life will typically always have some bumps and struggles, working through them is usually where the most rewarding growth happens.Keep us updated how you are moving forward.

But Sherriff Grady is something I love that guy and I can see why law and order folks move to FLA among other reasons..

What should I be asking and what should I know before seriously considering this purchase and major move?

Keep investing and moving forward!

If you have any reputation to protect at all it's one of a competent Landlady who is strict but fair.

Every time a tenant moved out 3 out of 8 evictions or so, it felt like a gamble, with someone leaving the place in ruins. 

I'm telling the community to find competent agents...