Since your lot is already zoned RS3, you can (by right) build a new SFH or 2-flat.

Is the only way to pay for a Reno for my childhood home to sell my current home or is there a method I'm not familiar with that I can use my current homes value to help me out??

I do generally agree with the sentiment of Austin and the other hosts that fundamentals will always win out in the long run, and this by nature is a long term industry, even the sales side I'm learning.  

You can learn by watching a professional manage the property.

I think if you can nail that down you will be able to find a market easier.As a buy and hold investor some of the things that were important to me when deciding on a market were landlord tenant laws, price to rent ratio, housing demand, ability to build a team, large population 500K plus, multi-family availability and some other factors.take the process step by step and you will be fine. 

By the time it was all over, the court fees, attorney fees ate up the entire EMD and then some --- this seller never intended to sell the house. 

@Nicholas Stout S8 rents are set by the number of bedrooms, that's pretty much it.The HUD guides are just that - guides!

@Robin Simon I completed a refinance with my credit union at terms of 3/30/75 @6.85% I will have the renwal in 2026 and hoping rates come down a little by then.

If they insist on staying, then they abide by the contract, period.Tenants threaten to sue all the time.

No kidding we just get them to discount the price by our commish..