Not exactly a professor by trade but I’ve trained hundreds of students in my medical field ... hmmmm

While you want to ensure you collect cards as you work the room, do not abruptly end conversations just because you traded cards.You also need a process in place to follow up with contacts after the meeting.

Its too painful and expensive to trade loans.Now I have a couple private lenders (previous sellers) if I need them.  60-70% 1st mortgage at 6% with no points. 

you can sell the personal resi with no tax consequence if you lived there 2 out of last 5 years.. no need to waste money borrowing against it unless you want to keep it for some reason.nothing wrong with free and clear assets.. 

However, this is considered a very bad practice in security trading business as the risk there is too high.

These communities trade anywhere from a 5.5% cap for large communities (250+ units), to 8%+ for older communities with single-wides and small lots, that would be hard to refill if you lost a resident.

Re: using a HELOC to start investing in real estateThere is always a trade off of risk vs. reward and any decision you make is fine so long as you are willing to take the risk for the potential reward.Reward: get cash for down payment on an investment property.Reward: get cash for repairs on an investment property.Reward: get cash for holding costs of a fix & flip propertyReward: you avoid PMI.Reward: you can avoid a second mortgage on the investment property.Risk: your monthly debt payments are higher.Risk: business failure could mean you will not be able to pay for your home.Risk: in the case of bankruptcy you might lose 100% of the value of your home.

Its still trading time for dollars.

I hear this advice a lot about finding someone local to apprentice with and learn the trade.

Let the seller worry about the capital gains and possible tax consequences.