Also Dave Van Horn with PPR has just released an e-book as well which has some good info. 

The download versions are great, but what happens is they become outdated when a new one comes out, but with the subscription you get the newest office when they release it.The subscription is a bit more expensive, but honestly, it's where Microsoft is going and there is no way to avoid that.

Only the bankruptcy trustee can sell the property or have it released for sale.

My concerns with leasing would specifically be between property owners who already have tenants in place (And i'm mostly worried about HUD type rentals) which then would require the current lease be terminated, me to come in as new lessee, then to re-lease to the current tenant as a new sublease.

As an Escrow Officer, I can tell you that any money "held" in escrow is not likely to be auto-released without a really well written CAR Addendum and Escrow Amendment.

Now we would like to release some of that equity to buy a rental property - but I don't have the credit score to take two dings, i.e. one for the HELOC and one for the rental mortgage. 

If you gather more jokes you can release 'The Big  Book of Real Estate Investing Jokes' by Ronan.   :-)

There are a number of successful people like Eric Moeller as @Valerie Rogers mentioned who have not only "released" properties, but are creating master lease agreements on a larger scale. 

When and how do you "release" a private mortgage with a payoff from a buyer?

If one tenant would like to assume the entire lease and release the other, they may apply to so do (and be screened appropriately).