If you can afford it without the rental go ahead, if you cant carefully consider if your personal use can be achieved with the amount of time it needs to rent.

They place people ahead of profits and make investing so much more lucrative for others.

I'm just going to put it out there that most of what you hear about wholesaling being illegal, and that it's not a good strategy because of X, Y, and Z, you should just go ahead and ignore that. 

Would I not end up ahead after my mortgage is paid off?

There are most likely several people in your market who gain access to pre-listed deals before they hit the MLS, so it wouldn't give you any advantage to get them ahead of time.

Searching with same criteria and looking for deals in our area, I'll give you a heads up if I see anything.

I think I would most likely go ahead with total replacement with copper, since I do plan on renovating the house within the next couple of years, as soon as I can coordinate lease end dates and get all of the tenants moved out.  

We are currently in the midst of refinancing ahead of the balloon payment.If the numbers are tight with 100% financing, you can still move ahead, you just need to be prepared to pony up some operating money if necessary.It's a great feeling to hit that refinancing date and realize how much equity you've built up which has been completely paid for by tenants. 

The best way to get ahead is by earning more. 

If I am out of town when invoices need to be sent out, I either have to plan ahead and have them e mailed to me ahead of time and send them out while on vacation, or I could load QB onto a laptop and generate and e mail them while out of town.