In closing I’m so excited to be apart of this community and chase the dream.

One of the hosts, Chase Thompson, is one of the teachers(?)

Depending on what bank you go to, some banks have over lays which will still hit you for the monthly payment on the HELOC's even though you intend to pay them off through the DFE (delayed financing exception) refinance.One bank that comes to mind is Chase, as far as I know sometimes calculate 1% of the open line for the HELOC as a monthly payment (even if your balance is $0.00) and they hit your DTI with this payment which can have disastrous effects on your ability to qualify.Typically if your lender goes off FNMA guidelines (with out added overlays) we should be able to remove the payment calculation for those specific funds from your HELOC that were used to purcahse the property because the new DFE refi loan will be paying down your HELOC to the original balance prior to the cash purchase and is already being counted against you.

I take it that most realtors don't want to waste a bunch of time submitting low-ball offers, or    chasing cheap distressed properties.

Lots of capital chasing a finite number of deals resulting in asset prices being bid up.

You are going to have to chase them to pay, not block laneway, etc.It will never be smooth and you will be placed in a difficult position when you feel you want to cancel the agreement.

And then get a pre-approval from a local bank..... not a chase, BOA, or USBank.. then... we can start shopping and running some numbers.  

Chase stopped it something like two years ago. 

As a concerned citizen I️ chased the mole down the street with a shovel.

It's like chasing a mythical creature or something.