Typically there are no prepayment penalties on hard money loans, so you can limit your holding cost if you're able to quickly complete the project and sell or refinance in a few months. 

Many of the towns are having to improve infrastructure due to the quickly growing population.

He's a major hard money lender in town and has a fairly simple process to get quick funding.

I would urge great caution when choosing neighborhoods and even blocks to invest in as things can go uphill or downhill very quickly.

For quick capital, fix-and-flip works well but requires more time and risk.

Had a quick inspection done, was told the property had about 5% knob and tube wiring along with other updated wiring and new breaker box.

Nothing too formal, just a quick coffee chat.

Analyzing deals can feel overwhelming at first, but with your finance background, you’ll catch on quickly!

I'd encourage you personally to either consider a strategy that allows you to add value quickly and get out quickly (a Flip or BRRRR) if the HELOC is your current only/best option for cash, and/or to simply save up.

You are trying to move too quickly.