In your case, it sounds like a similar story.. you identified a property with potential, tackled the structural work, and brought it back to life in a way that justifies a higher price.

I'm selling my sfr's and investing elsewhere after 40 yrs. 

To access your home equity without selling, you can explore options like a home equity loan, a line of credit (HELOC), or a cash-out refinance.

The 70% rule is reserved for talking points by the guy on stage talking to an audience who they’re trying to sell a coaching program to   It’s a get excited number not a do a deal number   The equation is: maximum of 65% of AS IS value.  

I'm struggling to generate extra lead flow from builders, mostly because it's so difficult to identify folks that are doing ground up, business purpose construction. 

Hard to give good advice without more info, but since You are single no kids it's hard to beat buying a single family fixer upper and living in it for two years and then selling for tax free profits....I'm a big fan of Waltham these days $.02 

What you need to learn in your 20s is how professional business works, how to manage people and projects, how to run an organization and how to sell ideas and concepts.

I will suggest that a seminar that sells training materials only would not have helped me. 

Our network partner, Erika Gilbert, identified this gem through local market connections.

If you are looking for property in San Diego that is going to have good initial cash flow, you are going to either have to identify an obscure value add or expect to spend a lot of time and effort to find good off market purchase (most off market offers are not great).