I was able to have a more personal touch with the HELOC and had a real person to call and talk to in case of any questions. 

So if you want to bring in OPM for smaller deals you'll probably need to do a more simple partnership with a one or two passive investors. 

Using a more realistic example, let's say your $1M property required 15% down w/ another $150k in improvements.

Also, are there any indicators that show that the property would have a more motivated seller like overgrown grass or sideways and driveways or vacant lots?

I'll tell you a more common way to lose your principal.I invested in Illinois Tax Liens through a company called Platinum Investment Properties (Charles Sells).   

For a non institutional firm, hiring is more unstructured and typically hire based on need or they might  use  freelancer asset managers .Given your situation- I would say reaching out to a non institutional sponsor, learning the ropes and working for them is a more reasonable and achievable goal.

Perhaps you can partner on a deal with a more experienced investor that has access to off market/pocket listings.

Move to a more capitalistic scientific approach, that is more of a Texan way of doing things.  

I am only using Excel at this point but need to upgrade to a more sophisticated system. 

However, I know I won't be able to purchase anything for at least 1-2 more years because I am building my savings for a more appropriate down payment.