Let them know that you filtered down a big list and still are interested in their property, this lets them know that you are seriously interested and aren't sending out thousands of letters looking to snag something at a low price.3.

If you use an agent to acquire, and they aren't tied to the outcome, there is no reason for them to "own" the estimated rental rate, repairs cost or "rentability." 

People who are very experienced at renovations/building aren't just going to show the special sauce on what took years to learn. 

While these rates aren't the greatest they do provide you with the highest return and greatest flexibility.If you have any concerns about being tempted to access your money, you could also do a bond or CD ladder. 

Those cracks aren’t included in their scope.

As many have said here, I am an agent and investor in FL and a lot of agents will simply let you out of that agreement if you aren't happy with their services after a certain amount of time.

That’s why I am saying you aren’t using cap rate properly

I'm struggling with being able to find properties that cash flow but aren't so under priced that they hit the 2% rule.  

@Kevin ReikHELOC is a great tool and as I’m sure you know many investors use it as part of their arsenal..I don’t know how experience you are if you aren’t keep this in mind.What would you do if your deal doesn’t go as you expect and you run into issues making HELOC payments ?

For one thing, you aren't.