Just do you research, crunch the numbers, and decide what works best for you.

We've opted to start our focus 'in our backyard' here in Lake County, though may (likely will) branch out further with time...Non-RE investing background:  I'm an engineer by trade (with all the anal-retentive number crunching that comes with it), presently in a 'Global Strategic Planning' role at my corporation.  

Consider hiring a VA from Fivrr or whatever to crunch the raw data into something easier to swallow.

He deals with title companies, lawyers, lenders, etc.Dave - he's finding deals, and crunching the numbers of the deals.  

The beauty is if you get into a "Cash Crunch" you can get by with just the minimum payment until you recover. 

I am a recent college graduate, I am extremely passionate about real estate investing as a business - this is not a hobby for me - My background is in finance, I am a very analytical person, I truly enjoy analyzing deals, crunching numbers and most importantly finding creative ways to maximize profit and minimize expenses.

Finding money for a good deal is something you can do once you've fully analyzed a deal from your leads and gotten them to agree to a price that works when you crunch the numbers.

Crunch enough numbers on a spreadsheet and you can at least arrive at a plan.

But since HELOC rates are variable and interest rates could potential be raised  twice more this year, take that into consideration when crunching your numbers.

From all the numbers I've crunched, it would be really hard to cash flow on a long term rental in a SFH anywhere near downtown Annapolis (using VA loan or up to 5% conventional financing to purchase the property- not 20% down).