Does anyone have any tips/ advice to help make sure my property will appraise for what I planned on based on my rehab?

.- If they are more reasonable you may want to accept if for now, but let them know you'd be doing regular increases to get the rent more inline with market rent.Too many newbies here will tell you to get market rent or get rid of the tenant.

Taking the loss now is preferable to paying out monthly for the privilege of being a landlord.

Once I've completed these initial projects and built up some capital, my long-term goal is to transition into buy-and-hold investments in potentially more affordable markets to maximize cash flow and scale up.Right now, I'm particularly interested in investing locally here in the Seattle metro area.

Retaining your current home at a 2.875% mortgage rate maximizes cash flow, while accessing $65K in equity provides liquidity for your next steps.

Be sure to ask how, and how many of these a year do they do, how often, what listings do they have right now that you can look at, etc etc.. 

You want access to the coach you want, not some backup.Thanks for the shout out my friend!

Insurance right now is wild, so I'd get a solid broker on your team - I'd be happy to share my contact if that would help.Also, aren't most of the existing insurances shared on the OMs for the properties? 

I would also weigh if you plan on staying in the home you are in now for a long time or move in the next 5 years.

These homes are in my personal name right now.