Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

What I recommend people do is tell the lender ok great I am going to want to use my own title company to close this so funds would go to them.

I'd be more than happy to provide you with a couple recommendations if you need?

I'll take any and all advice any of you have, but the two things I'm looking for specifically are: what sites, services, and/or software you use and recommend for sceening and managing tenants? 

Here’s what I recommend instead:Offer Value Beyond Price: Rather than just lowering your rates, focus on adding value to the guest experience.

For example, I work closely with a PM down here in Charlotte so I know what they're going to be recommending for updates/work to be done prior to getting a tenant in place.

I would recommend just reading up more on both industries and make a decision from there.

Regardless, you might find the copy & paste info below helpful:)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Can anyone recommend a HELOC lender for a SFH investment property in Los Angeles, CA?

Why don't you take a few months and attend a few of the BiggerPockets webinars hosted by Brandon, listen to some of the podcasts, and read a few of the recommended books.