I highly recommend going with a LOCAL LENDER ie in the same state, and preferably from the same area of the state you are looking.  

You mentioned price, are you too high?

.- If interest rates remain high, this is further upward pressure on rents in the near-term, as the alternative to renting - buying a home with a mortgage, is expensive - this should increase demand for rentals. - Rents are also a function of supply - 2024 saw the most new construction of multifamily units in American history (nearly 575,000 estimated 2024 deliveries of new multifamily inventory), and 2025, while not a record setting year, will see deliveries top 500,000 again - a huge supply increase. 

In most of those cases, their broker took a high fee and the investor didn't end up with a great deal.Here are a couple of things that are a tipoff you are not working with a broker with your interests at heart (1) they want to pull your credit before having a conversation, or (2) they send you a long list of things you need to provide them before learning about you and your deal.The conversation should start with why you are interested in REI, then understanding your strategy to get there.

Do you know that OO has many high LTV options?

When going for a HELOC, aim high on your home’s value — let the appraiser bring it down to what it's actually worth rather than underestimating it yourself.Cash is king.

For jacksonville I would highly recommend Elenis at Thirdstone Properties. 

This project highlights our commitment to high-quality living spaces in Columbus.

Brandon Turner's Rental Property Investing book is an excellent primer to understanding the happy path for purchasing a property - however in this market it really comes down to having bulletproof assumptions on rents/taxes/R&M/etc. as with rates as high as they are/inventory as low as it is, there is less cushion in your returns if you analyze properties with bad assumptions.

Start getting your situation less debt ridden by paying down or on your next investment put more cash down to make it highly intrinsic.