Also we are scheduling some consultation with lenders. what are the questions to ask the lender and also how to choose a good lender for investment properties moving forward ?

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

Hello, my name is Andy and I a new investor.

Best time to get a heloc is when you do not need the heloc! 

Hiring someone to do the work will likely cost too much (I would charge a small fortune, it's an incredible amount of work) and doing things as cheaply as possible will bite you in the *** later when you start having issues with your own shoddy work and/or materials.

How do you buy anything or stay somewhere?

ask questions.also, you have to have money to invest. 

I have gotten a seller's credit for my 3 existing units but to be conservative, I will assume I am paying full closing costs here.At the moment, I have ~$25k in a HYSA and expect to save another $10k from my W-2 before I start putting offers in.

@Olivia Blake how much money will you potentially lose by strong-arming a tenant and then having them break the lease early - or even just not renew?

I want to save a little $ by not having to pay an agent over 25K in commission for a project like this.