In Phoenix, I might call up a friend who invests in mixed-use properties south of Roosevelt Row, and that friend might know a local title rep who’s been working with out-of-state buyers who like to pull the trigger fast.

At the end of the day you're only going to be as successful as that team allows you to be so I would definitely advise doing a deep dive and  visiting, if possible, who you'd be investing with and where before pulling the trigger. 

But it is the lowest down payment option, and likely the lowest rate option as well. one tidbit - condos don't usually like the STR piece, so make sure to do your DD in whatever area you're looking to buy in before puling the trigger. 

I know it sounds like I'm splitting hairs but some banks write HELOCs in their residential department....which won't write Investment Properties.

I know it sounds like I'm splitting hairs but some banks write HELOCs in their residential department....which won't write Investment Properties.

Definitely wouldn't trigger the clawback penalty but it's still good to be aware of it.  

If this were a brick and mortar bank (now I switched to one), this would have been flagged to me before the bank took the action of refunding the money, triggering an investigation.

Can you ever use these funds as they accumulate to go purchase another property or does that trigger taxes?

Since the property is under mortgage, just transferring to LLC will most likely trigger the "due on sale clause".3.

But how can you transfer a property into an LLC later without triggering the due-on-sale clause?