Stay local and don't ask for funding and think only nice people will try to help on the internet.

Research the market to find favorable conditions, such as job growth, population expansion, and affordability.Assess your financial status and consider different financing options such as conventional mortgages, private lenders, hard money loans, and innovative financing approaches.

I lost my job last October but had enough money to cover rent until January.

I would love to refinance after I make the property look nice.

My day job is primary research through surveys, so I was very interested to see if this was a single project or various surveys.

So I’m thinking a home equity loan to build a very nice small rental?  

That depends - if you want another job then buy real estate, if you want to buy time for yourself invest in a syndicationWhat I would say is I would not only invest in multifamily syndications.

Some of these small contractors are basically bankrupt day to day, taking your deposit to finish the last job. 

But as Kodie stated, you will need to be cautious on how the offer is written and make sure you did a thorough job of explaining the deal to your hard money lender so they do not back out and you lose your EMD. 

I do full background, credit checks, job verification, etc.