Attend auctions, don't buy, just look and be aware of who is bidding and what's happening.Get on mailing list of all auction companies in your area.Have a fiduciary buyer's broker working for you - you want to be supplied with all expired listings in your investing area, all new listings; land, commercial, houses and lots.Learn "Contract Engineering", clauses; right to assign, delayed settlement, study periods, hybrid offers - etc.Look at 50 houses, don't buy or make an offer on any of them until you feel you KNOW the market.Have fun, this is a great business - enjoy your wealth. :-)

Term Life is all you need if you invest properly for a period of 30 years which is all people need using Dollar cost averaging consistently.  

For a short period like 5 years, it's hard to imagine the HELOC being more costly than the cash-out refi, except that it is a low HELOC balance (at least out in my area), and they may charge you extra on the rate.

I always put in an option period so I can back out of a deal in case there are major issues with the house that come up in an inspection.

I told them we wouldn't move forward until their option period is over.  

During the contract period, suppose the seller decides they want out of the deal, what does a wholesale do?

ROI is a rate of return, not a payback period. 

(That's an important question for EVERY property you buy).At the start, you will likely have to wait 6 months for each successive refi, but once you get a few under your belt, with accordingly increased ongoing cash-flow, the seasoning periods might be able to be applied to earlier properties once further appreciation kicks in too, allowing you to speed up your deal-making regimen?

What I discovered is something I have never seen anyone speak about on Bigger Pockets (I am sure someone has discussed this I just have not seen this idea discussed at all...or anywhere in my short research period on cash flow and real estate properties.We hear everyone speak about Cash Flow, NOI, Cap Rate or Cash on Cash returns.. however I think there is another important benchmark for investors to consider when deciding their down payment percentage and financing levels because of their effects on cash flow...Capital Cost per $1 of Cash FlowOne of the most illuminating aspects of real estate investing is financing isn’t bad...Having spent all of my life not accumulating debt this has been a difficult psychological barrier to break through.

If you are going to owner-occupy, you also want to benefit from the OO preference periods offered by HUD, Homepath, and Homesteps.