Code didn't care that the tenant was likely the cause for the roaches considering we did a complimentary spray upon occupancy and we did not see any bugs the 21 days the home was vacant.  

If something does cause a "major market correction" it will be for some different reason than what happened in 2008.

As you just saw, what you were using was old and it caused you to have the wrong information. 

And each offer that comes in is higher than the last one, making it all the more difficult for an investor to get the property at a price that makes the numbers work.BUT -- the overpriced property that has been sitting on the market 3 months has ZERO offers, and everybody is passing it up because they can easily see it's simply not worth the asking price.THE PROBLEM WITH OVERPRICINGOverpricing is the "Original Sin" of the real estate industry, and it causes more problems for sellers now more than ever before.

I highly recommend you partner with a experienced investor so you can learn how to do it properly from the beginning and don't leave yourself in a position that could cause you financial harm or damage your reputation. 

It caused us a lot of financial hardship for a number of years.  

one clarification point, before you go the quit-claim route, review your title insurance to ensure the quit claim deed doesn't cause a break in title, thereby giving the title company a reason to deny a claim should a question on the chain of title arise during your ownership

Paul Flynn I recommend refinancing after the remodel and seasoning period and put the funds back into your HELOC.If you are not doing any remodel I recommend paying the HELOC off before your next investment.Not doing so may stretch you too thin and cause financial issues.

The high expense ratio are caused by many things including higher than usual property management fee, deferred maintenance , high water bills due to leaks, inefficient monthly advertising cost, inefficient property management software, neglected yearly service contracts, higher than usual insurance cost etc.

I've heard of this causing leaks in the roof if not done properly.