I think most people who have a bad taste about wholesaling either haven't done it or have run into some who do it wrong.I was a full time investor for 8 years before I began wholesaling.

Does he have some good advice, yes, but it's not gospel and needs to be tailored to a person's own tastes and interests.

The returns might not be an outrageous deal (obviously the numbers have to work), but it will be a safe first property that will yield return, and will not leave a sour taste in your mouth about rental property investing. 

Also, I've got some friends who are planning to visit the Finger Lakes in a few weeks (mid November) to go wine tasting and had another friend celebrating their birthday in the area this past weekend.

The idea of buying two rentals, one with cash reserves and another with Heloc sounds like too bold a move for my taste. 

We just purchased our primary residence in Orange County in December so we got a taste of how competitive the SoCal market is right now in terms of contingencies, etc.

Probably just a personal taste and I really don't know how motivated sellers view these sites but they seem a little gimmicky. 

Real estate deal #1 for me was building a quadraplex which I ended up flipping, it took over 2 years & I barely broke even; that left a bad taste in my mouth.

But you accept that and factor it into the purchase...Yet your still asking for "donations", which I find to be in rather poor taste. 

He put in new flooring and updated the bathroom and kitchen (not my taste but at least it is new).