My main motivation is to have direct access to the MLS and be able to move fast on deals.

Columbus is still super affordable (you can find deals in the $130K–$180K range that hit the 1% rule), and it's growing fast with companies like Intel, Amazon, Google, and Honda pouring billions into the area.

@Angel Hagen Alpreciate the reply.

Any tips, real-world examples, or numbers you can share would be super helpful for someone getting started. 

Should you pay off your mortgage fast like Dave Ramsey says?

Hello my name is Chuck and I’m super eager to start my real estate investment journey, I’m working with a realtor and a lender and have viewed a couple homes one potential that me and my wife want to buy unfortunately this doesn’t meet the criteria for the one percent rule, in the beginning I reached out to a investor realtor in my area using bigger pockets which fell thru due to a family emergency on the realtors end I moved forward with a reputable realtor in my area but I’m really not sure if I should move forward the house fits our needs at the moment and it does involve a little sweat equity but no a lot to do it’s mostly done how do i navigate way I should do next should I put our families needs first and just sell after two years or rent out ultimately is what we are wanting to do, I will say I’m a little overstimulated with this process in how everything is going and how hard it is for my area to find that first rental investment that both fits our needs and our rental portfolio any advice would help and thanks 

Sounds like in your situation a cash out refinance would be the better option since it is less risk and you can get a lower payment/rate verus a heloc.There is a lot of issues than can arise with a Heloc which is the same as a credit card verus liquid reserves tax free cash in hand that can be used as an asset for PITI reserves or collateral in general for compensating factors in underwriting or rate/term qualifications.I enjoy helping other BP members save more time and money I say it a lot here on the BP forum but its super helpful to avoid mistkes and lost deals as well.  

Networking will fast forward your education, help you to build a team and mentors and open your eyes to the many possibilities that real estate has to offer. 

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