Credit Unions and the big Banks are probably your best bets for a HELOC.

The loan amount on the property was way less than the appraised value so I figured it was a 'relatively' safe bet. 

Its not unrealistic to bet on increasing rents and increasing OO housing.

He has sold his primary residence, moved into one of his rentals, all for the purpose of taxes and hedging his bet against the market.Perhaps towards the end of summer, in a month or two, we will be in a better position to assess where the market is going. 

@Zach Talke your best bet is to start by househacking a small multi family.

Honestly, your best bet would be to look for Erie landlords on BP and see if one (who owns some units and has experience) might be interested in PMing for you.

Your best bet is looking into 3/1 or 5/1 ARMs at local banks.

I bet the average investor doesn't put forth that much effort.

I bet Chimpo is the one who have a lot of cash but not much real estate, have been sitting on the sideline for a very very long time, have been waiting and hoping for a house crash, so he can jump in...

Your best bet is to either have experience or the ability to put money into the deal, preferably both.