I would love to meet up with investors and agents in person in my area to learn more about real estate and any advice they may have.

If you have the bandwith, adding bedrooms/bathrooms or a new HVAC can significantly increase ARV.First-timers often over-focus on minor cosmetic changes like new paint, luxury upgrades that aren't necessary for the area, and personal preferences that don't align with market trends.Let me know if you have further questions.Good luck!

I find TPs rent control too restrictive personally.

i would say it depends on the overall investment strategy. im not really familiar with STR rentals in your area. personally i like the long term rentals, especially if you are trying to be hands off. we have two STR's, one we manage ourselves in FL and the other in Gatlingburg which is managed by a company. even with an STR rental company, i still find myself managing the manager. both require work and are by no means passive. long term (to me) is nice given time investment. hope this helps. 

The HELOC would need to go off your personal situation but if needed you may be able to do DSCR on the short term rental.

If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing.

Hi all,    I have a friend / private money person who is going to lend me money to buy a property. 

I personally would use Shane Flipping- Flipping Custom Homes. 

Personally, I'd be very conservative in my revenue projections on something like this just in case this trend continues. 

why no MLS  agents may have done a bunch of your homework up front.. just offer what makes sense to you.. me personally I would start with  the zoning maps and only look at props zoned for the size you want to create.. then work backwards.. no sense chasing deals without knowing the zoning up front.