I'm about ready to retire so I'm not looking to compete in a bidding war, mainly looking for a fair deal that I can rehab or a turnkey with some cash flow. 

For me it is not the markets i did not invest in as much as the properties i did not purchase.  

This is especially important if you're on the younger side, as those returns can compound significantly over the next few decades.I'm in a small real estate mastermind group, and we all did this exercise with our own portfolios and identified underperforming properties and equity to reposition, and presented it the group for feedback.

I'm looking at investing in a short term rental in Jacksonville, my budget is fairly modest though, up to $300k so I'm not looking to do a high-end STR.

If this is how it works, do I ever go through the title company like I would in a normal wholesale transaction?

A too high price will translate in a low ROI.

I have decided to look into a heloc, I'm a bit newer into realest state investing, I have completed a couple of fix%flips this year, I currently use hard money for the purchase with 10% down and I cover 100% of the rehab, with that said even just doing a couple of homes at a time, I find myself around 200k out of pocket, I think it would be a bit easier on myself and wife if we utilized a heloc vs just cash, my primary should appraise around 1.1m and my mortgage is 640k, I'm looking at pulling about 250k for a heloc, I don't want to refi the home and cash out as I only want to pay interest on funds as I use them ( I know I won't always be using the heloc cash) Any advice or even knowledge for people in a similar situation, and anyone have a referral for a Heloc?

First off- $4.5M for 48 units and 50% are vacant is not a steal, unless this property is located in a downtown area and you have a contact with a developer who will pay 2X to build a high rise. $93k/unit for 50% vacancy doesn't carry hardly any debt, hence why they are capping you at $500k.

Hey @Steve Johnson, I found your website but it does not explicitly mention HVAC and I actually was about to ask on the forum if anyone had a recommendation for a furnace repair job... not a big job, one unit in a duplex not working properly.

Why is padsplit showing up 4-5x in a row in the forums all posted by different posters?