So your accountant becomes a key player for you.  

Any professional poker player should be able to tell you their hourly along with their standard deviation, so that they know an income range over any particular number of hours. 

If I were you I would start hitting up a few REIA meetings and get to know some of the players around you.

Going to a few sales will help you learn who the players are and who to call and what information to ask for. 

No I would not buy a HELOC with a first borrower who isn't paying as agreed, they are players.

I am a minor league baseball player and I have zero experience with multifamily other than what I have read on it.

Some investors are all about cash flow and others are comfortable with limited cash flow out of the box with the added opportunity for appreciation and rental demand (long-term players).

Something that helped me on my way as a poker player was surrounding.

But suffice it to say that there are some very big players in the industry who have become very concerned and very frustrated with the actions of Zillow, Trulia, and others, and are beginning to fight back.

Most importantly you need to convey confidence and assurance you are a player and not just wasting their time.