Pretty straightforward, but I have seen houses where the renovation work approached those limits and building departments asked for more information from contractors regarding costs.

The first neighborhood I would look at is anything next to infrastructure - if it has grocery stores, malls, gas stations.

I know it sounds like I'm splitting hairs but some banks write HELOCs in their residential department....which won't write Investment Properties.

The builder suggested a local bank that they use and would like to see them succeed and referred me to the commercial lending department.

If so, make sure to visit/know of the grocery stores, restaurants, things to do, etc around the area even if just driving by.

@Jay Hinrichs @Patrick DesjardinsWe rep and warrant all notes (both re-performing and non-performing) to be a valid lien and to be in the lien position as disclosed at the time of purchase.Our current performance warranty on re-performing notes is as follows:"In the event that a re-performing note becomes delinquent, or enters non-performing status, PPR’s Loss Mitigation Department will notify the note investor within 30-60 days and then attempt to address and correct the payment issue prior to the loan becoming 120 days past due.

There are some people coming back because there's a segment of the population who love living in the city and being walking distance to restaurants, stores etc. 

The point of going into real estate is either as a store of value or to make money--you make money primarily through value add--of which the simplest path is rehabs-go with an easy one while you learn the process.  

Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books on this topic, or you can learn about it by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum.

And finally, while there are likely some pro accounts that will only give you discounts if you are licensed, most will let anyone sign up, and are often based on volume spent at that store anyways.