Tapping into that equity through a HELOC or cash-out refinance and reinvesting in higher-performing assets could improve their ROI significantly.

Never heard of him.Make sure you perform proper due diligence.

The borrower can not foreclose on his buyer under a Wrap if it is a performing note.  

The return on equity is probably very low considering they are paid off so maybe explore refinancing or selling the lowest performing one(s) or your biggest headaches to reinvest in more lucrative deals.I noticed you also used a metric of number of rentals to attain your goal rather than $$$/month.

@Randall King If you find the property isn't performing well, a 1031 exchange would defer the tax and concentrate that equity into something that has a greater cash flow potential, like what @Corby Goade said.

@Caleb Rehg  I would advise your first step is to search this site for college student rentals and student rentals and read all you can. 

STRs work best in tourist-heavy areas with high demand, while LTRs perform well in markets with stable economies and diverse job opportunities.

Always perform thorough market research and verify the numbers on any property you consider.

I will definitely take a look at that site. 

If you are just looking to network I would go the route of meetups locally (you can check above at the toolbar, hoover over forums then to the right you have events and meetups.If you are looking to wholesale and build a list of buyers that fix and flip for deals you may have then I would pull lists from 3rd party sites like Property Radar or propstream.