Hey Claire, since your property is paid off, a HELOC or cash out refinance could help you access equity to fund another property.

Upon BP member recommendations, my husband got his real estate license which now helps increase our access and decrease our transaction costs.

If they are pre forecloure/foreclosure, probate, or lists that require fast access to the lead to gain an advantage how new is the list and are the leads already on the prominant platforms like Propstream and Propwire?

Once you've owned it for 5 years and lived in it for at least 2 you can sell and access that proration tax-free. 

The only way I can access is money is through my primary residence and doing a HELOC.

Long term money, you could invest into a taxable account so you have access to it whenever you want.

It will tell you how much loan you can access and the interest rate. 

Key conservatorship issues to considerAny plan to exit Fannie and Freddie’s conservatorship should promote market liquidity, and thus, access to mortgage credit.

Access to these,  I do not believe requires a license, but it is in the thousands of dollars for access at the level you need.

Nothing wrong with this approach but what you want is a measurable, predictable number of potential deals flowing your way so I wouldn't recommend relying solely on the passive deal search.You may have access to information to help you prospect for these deals on your own.