Be sure to factor in repair costs to keep things profitable.

Most (not all) HELOCs require that the property is titled to an individual (not LLC) and are full doc, meaning your employment history, income, DTI etc will be factors.

Duplex have different zoning that may permit additional units.

My budget is in the $200-250K range.Please feel free to let me know if additional details would help, and thank you in advance for your time and advice! 

You can easily find this online but I will message you directly with some additional info. 

And this low demand could be a couple of factors, either a rural location with low population density or the area incomes are not high enough in order to prevent a rent burdened scenario. 

And while yes, no one has the same pricing (combination of factors), I also continue to check on a regular basis our rankings and how we "present" on total costs per stay vs. our competitors.My gut says there is price creep and we might have a ways to go before the market really corrects.

This is due to bonus depreciation which allows taxpayers to deduct 40% of qualifying property costs in the first year, in addition to regular depreciation for new construction and improvement.

Additionally, there typically are additional state protections (outside of the agreement) based on where the fund is located.

You’re absolutely right—speed is such a critical factor in securing deals, especially in a competitive market.