Excited and new are the best attributes when you join Bigger Pockets....so glad you found the forums!

You need to move fast when you get a list because the home owners are going to be getting bombarded with mail and you want yours to be early and to stand out. 

Stand out by being someone people respect, trust, and know they can get a good deal from.

I attribute our success in negotiating this to the time I spent building a one-on-one relationship with the seller.

I found two documents that stand out to me but I'm unsure If I'm understanding them correctly. 

When assessing a property for a HELOC the banks will not likely attribute full market value to the property and will only allow up to probably 80% of their assessed value as a HELOC.

The portion of the income that is attributed to the non-IRA (borrowed) capital is viewed as Unrelated Debt Financed Income (UDFI) and subject to taxation.I unfortunately do not have the time for a through explanation of the tax, but for most investors it is of nominal impact in terms of both dollars and percent of returns.   

If not, you would need to allocate the portion of the expenses attributable to your child's use.

@Jim Welch the things that stand out to me are why have black appliances?

Sacramento is a highly competitive seller's market, and every little thing you can do to make your offer seem stronger will help it stand out.