Jimmy,The key thing to note here is that they have high limits on their Insurance for Liability.  

I have about $250k in equity in the home and my realtor believes if we list it we will probably get a bidding war in this market and since our neighborhood is highly desirable.

The best way to add equity in your first deal is through sweat equity where you can actually do some of the renovations and you are not paying full cost for the renovation project, but this is highly dependent on the condition of the property you identify.

I'd love to be able to help others tap into the amazing power of real estate.

Great strategy that should be highly considered in my humble opinion. 

I'm at GBF, high table on your right as you walk in .

Two high level quotes come to mind "Let your winners ride" and "a great value asset at a fair price is much better than a fair value asset at a great price".

Whatever the type of financing might be, they usually have maximums not allowing deductibles that high.

Hey Seth, If you have a good FICO, Loan Amount is above $250k, and property DSCRs at 1.25, You may achieve a rate at the high 7s at 70LTV on a 30 year fixed loan. 

I've often heard BP use the terms "Cash Flow markets" and "Appreciation markets", and they are generally referring to low-priced markets as "Cash Flow" and high-priced markets as "Appreciation".