@Sarita Scherpereel runs meetups in Chicago so she may be able to point in the right direction.

Make sure to maintain a cash reserve (3-6 months of expenses) to handle unexpected repairs or vacancies.It’s smart to consider the “what-ifs,” but don’t let them hold you back.

I prefer public comments here before you send a direct message, though. 

I have actually envied some of the numbers i see there but dont know enough about that market and am not ready to start investing in that direction yet.

Would help if you stated what questions you had so people could reply right away.I have knowledge on HELOANs but not direct experience.

He did a good job but looking back on it now I think I could've done alot better with more insight and direction How did you finance this deal?

Might pay the appraiser direct or something, but any lender fees have to be on a HUD-1.

That said, I am still on VRBO, GVR, BDC and direct.  

These loans do come from banks directly (Fannie/Freddie loans come from the Federal Government) so each bank that offers these types of mortgages might have slightly different requirements. 

As part of his investment of capital into scaling, he hired a marketing firm specializing in SEO, SEM, social media, direct email, etc.