The shorter the prepayment term has an impact on increasing the rate.4.

The instructor gave a case study where we needed to team up as groups of fours and figure out a way to buy an REO property with no money of our own and increase the equity by 30K.

Not only would the rent cover your heloc costs (eventually) your property value increases giving you the equity you options for additional real estate investments down the road. 

I believe CA market in general is expected to increase by 4-5% but SF is unique. 

With owner financing, depending on terms offered, we can increase that number by 10 - 20%.  

Right now, we’re seeing a slight increase in inventory and some corrections in rents, which could create opportunities—but achieving solid cash flow on a condo can still be challenging.Getting pre-approved is a great first step to narrow down your options and focus on locations that make sense for your goals.

If you need more coverage, you can usually increase the liability amount on your current policy.

It's what I pay my overseas VAs with for my business.They did just increase their fees slightly, but it's still the best option IMO.

The property value has increased quite a bit since then and i would like to increase it, but i wasn't sure it they would entertain it being that its an investment now and not my primary home.  

There is increasing supply as a result of increasing demand but the real question you're asking is whether it's going to lead to oversupply and lower rents or not.