My question is, if I do want to make an offer funded with a HELOC, can I later bring in investors or even a hard money lender before the purchase?

The tiny 2/1 needs rehab and wouldn't bring $10k in today's market in its current condition.

Salt water anything brings with it a host of new problems. 

If you engage with them and seriously contemplate what they bring to the table, you will make a better decision in the end.And no one has tried to sell you a thing, just a bunch of real estate multimillionaires trying to help you, for free.

If that is the case, for me, if they actually do bring a case, I'd try to get it wrapped up as soon as possible.

Will this lawsuit truly bring relief to renters, or is it just a Band-Aid on a much deeper wound?

This gives you a foundation for making a fair offer.Secure Financing: Be prepared to show you’re a serious buyer with funding lined up, whether through cash, traditional financing, or a creative option like seller financing.Have a Strategy for Repairs or Development: If the property is distressed, outline how you’ll handle improvements to bring it back to productive use.

I really scaled up my number of doors the last couple of years and didn't bring any new processes to the table and it feels like a mess.

Look, I am a minimalist, I like simplicity and bring things down to there simplest denominator.

I'm unsure if you would be able to combine both loans given that the HELOC is tied to a different property than the one you got traditional financing on.A work around is if you are able to purchase the new property with the HELOC at a significant enough discount, bring the property value up via renovations or additions, then refinance the property, pulling out enough money to repay the HELOC.