some of my investor friends have mentioned it. they get all there stuff at wholesale prices and it allows them to sell things for a discount. 

Use pricelabs, I also integrate with guesty for hosts which allows me to manage listings on airbnb vrbo and booking.com.

What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.?

@Dave Meyer, while I like the idea of this thread, I think there are a lot of nuances that go along with this.At surface level, I am in 4 syndications, 3 of the 4 are paused.  

This is a tool that is supposed to achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace, which will allow you to outperform the competition.Thus, if you are OK with me being nice, I'll repeat myself and tell the newbie OP that I think your tool is fine to use and learn from.

If you can save money and renovate and the ARV allows you to pull your intial capital out sooner, I say go for it!

By paying off the land loan through the new construction, it removes that lien and allows the construction loan to move into 1st position.   

When used correctly a HELOC allows you to do multiple deals over and over again.

I'm not an expert on California law, but I believe you are allowed to give a 60-day notice of termination for a substantial remodel.

It will also allow you to pull some cash out if you have the equity and for tax purposes.You can have two VA loans at the same time but having two means that the second home may not qualify for 100%.