HELOC will be harder on non-primary residence and a commercial loan would work but crush your profitability for no real gain. call a bundle of lenders until you have some options.

If you are just trading stocks by yourself I don't see the real benefit to having an LLC from a tax standpoint (since all of the dividends and capital gains would flow through).

Thinking about using a company like this to help navigate those areas until I gain some experience. 

Been in the car business past 2 years and thinking of transitioning into a mortgage broker or maybe become an Agent on the side to gain knowledge and build relationships.

The property taxes are higher in Texas but that doesn't matter as much if you're a flipper since you might hold onto it for a few months while you rehab and sell or maybe a little longer if you want it to be capital gains.

As far as numbers, does gaining a full understanding of them come from experience?

You can gain so much insight and foresight from B.P.  

Is it possible for an investor to gain access to the MLS without an agent?

Just finished BP's Ultimate Beginner's Guide and it was great.I want to fill my head with as much knowledge, go to meetups, and connect with as many people as possible so I can gain confidence to make my next purchase.Glad you reached out!

Once you get to know the sellers and gain their trust (it may take a few conversations going back and forth), then you should ask them if you could get a few estimates from contractors on the work needing to be performed and go from there.