I would bet if you Googled "REIA meetings in Memphis" you'd find tons of groups to check out.

The more that a property is encumbered by the investors, the safer your money is against liens that may arise during the deal. 

Donnelly seems to be the better bet price wise.

I bet your background as a firefighter and construction means any building you own will be tip top .

Craigslist may be a better bet for what you are trying to do, although to @Nathan G. point, it's full of scammers so I would be careful how you post it. 

My bet would be not very well 

I'd agree with the above commentators - a Cash-Out Refinance loan with a local DSCR lender is likely your best bet

If a company is not being totally transparent from the start, you can bet there are going to be some more surprises down the road.Best regards,Jon

Having your 2 paid off properties as collateral has no effect on how you operate unless you do not pay ,,,, and I'm betting you did not get one paid off and the on its way by not paying.

@Trevor Matern personally I look at LTR as safer and STR as more risky but I don't have a lot of experience long term with STR, nor do I have data to show what happens if there's a downturn