Heating costs go up in winter, as does electric due to the reduced natural light and people being indoors more.

.”— Napoleon HillIt's natural to grow apart from people in life.

Tons of natural light filtering through the open living spaces.

Hi Caleb, I do not think a local lender matters unless it is a very specific product that may have been created by the local credit union or something of that nature.

Or will appreciation of house and increased equity improve this naturally or should I look for a house that has better CoC from the start?

For you the most common options to move into passive investing are going to to be Properties managed by a 2rd party, Vacation rentals with onsite management, NNN commercial properties with much longer leases, and Delaware Statutory Trusts or oil/natural gas/mineral rishts interests.You must use a Qualified Intermediary who must be involved prior to the sale. 

Some other states also have "transfer taxes" of this nature but just be aware of them.Also, this is not answering the question of "does holding a property in a LLC provide me any protection?"....

Featuring large footprint with sunken living room and vaulted ceiling, large windows and skylight for natural light, formal dining room, open floor kitchen with sitting and adjacent family room with brick wood fireplace.

Featuring large footprint with sunken living room and vaulted ceiling, large windows and skylight for natural light, formal dining room, open floor kitchen with sitting and adjacent family room with brick wood fireplace.

His model really allowed for 5%, but the more conservative number appeals to my nature.