@Jerryll Noorden has a lot of good points and I agree that SEO plays a major role in getting you leads, but SEO is not the best or only strategy - there are a few ways to go about getting leads, and every one of them is applicable and has its strengths.As you can see Jerryll is using a platform that helps you generate leads.

I’d recommend using a smaller company with some referrals you can talk to that have actually teamed up with the lender before.

My plan was to purchase my first property in my name using a VA loan and after 2 years or so, building equity, doing a cash-out refi into an LLC using any gains for another property.

Would consider using a PMS or related to handle that, so long as the PMS didn't require a ton of integration or charge a significant percentage per booking fee. 

Are there any benefits for using a HELOC over Hard money for purchasing a fix n flip? 

I would advise using a M2M lease as well.

I am considering using a real estate virtual assistant to help me get some task done and close wholesale deals, current quote for services is about $11 hr.

We purchased/house hacked a 4 unit property for about $238K using a 5% down loan and are now rehabbing each unit one at a time and then filling them with good tenants as they are finished. 

I am doing some research into buying a an investment property using a heloc.

If you are using a wholesaler make sure you know how to run your own numbers as well.