National banks are a different story. 

I am employed as a National Account Manager for PPG which is a leading global paint and specialty chemical company.

Unfortunately, I cannot find a lender, national or local (GA), that will do a HELOC on a rental.

National investor lenders like Lending One or Lima One are another option. 

Used a national bank for orginal purchase and HELOC. 

Hello BP nation,It has taking us sometime but in the fall of 2016 we purchased our first rental property.

https://www.har.com/content/newsroom/Houston Real Estate Highlights in June Single-family home sales rose 1.8 percent year-over-year, with 8,518 units sold, the largest one-month sales volume of all time;Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes declined from 50 to 48 days;Total property sales reached record levels, rising 1.7 percent, with 10,115 units sold – the first time that number has broken the 10-thousand mark;Total dollar volume increased 6.6 percent to slightly more than $3 billion;The single-family home median price rose 2.6 percent to $245,000, reaching an all-time high;The single-family home average price increased 4.3 percent to a record high of $316,463;Single-family homes months of inventory was at a 4.1-months supply, the highest level since last August and equal to the national inventory level;Townhome/condominium sales rose 4.9 percent, with the average price down 1.7 percent to $211,050 and the median price down 4.1 percent to $163,000;Leases of single-family homes climbed 4.7 percent with the average rent up 3.9 percent to $1,877;Volume of townhome/condominium leases fell 4.2 percent with the average rent up 6.7 percent to $1,662.

Hi BiggerPockets Nation,I'm a relative newbie and wanted to get your thoughts.

The local banks are usually willing to do things the big national outfits are not - at least that has been my experience.Nabbing an apt building would be great, and if you could consolidate your capital in that purchase I think that is a good strategy. 

I have grown up working in a national contracting business, and am therefore familiar with how contractors work and communicate (I really enjoy this aspect of RE).