Despite paying fees, doing a deal and making some profit is better than sitting on the sidelines. 

Refinance and pay the downpayment.

A HELOC offers flexibility, as you only pay interest on what you use, but rates tend to be variable.

An example of one package we have is a Romantic Package - $199. 12 Balloons (buy the helium tanks and keep balloons on site for your team or use a local shop)Rose Petal Entry Way (bought off Amazon)2 Dozen Roses (local grocery store for $10-15 each dozen)Led Candle Display (bought off amazon and reusable)I Heart U Signs (amazon and reusable)Champagne (or wine if they want)This equals around $60-70 each time and we pay our cleaner $40 to set up.

Or they have it figured out and are going to cure via paying or modification etc etc. 

I like the idea of getting a great deal, so should I take a pay cut, invest in getting my real estate's license, go the CCIM route, and find a broker to sponsor me until I'm a CRE broker and earn of the commission and get into bigger deals as a GP?

On a 320k property Ill be paying 9k annually. 

The goal is to ensure that the property remains viable even if circumstances change, like dealing with a non-paying tenant or a market downturn.

I own all my toys, never seriously worry about money (I suspect everyone with any money always at least pays attention to it), spend my winters in Florida and rarely work in any sense (I do some consulting and side teaching) more than 10 hours a week.

You will pay for the higher risk with higher rates and origination fees but if the deal makes sense then congrats.