One has lasted almost 30 years with thousands of people walking on it annually and the second has been beautiful for 20 years with slightly less traffic.

I am most interested in finding some people local to get ahold of to pick their brains/ learn from them. 

I didn't really understand why as long as the loan was not underwater and they didn't explain it. 

So they use their own people to submit the articles and all that. 

From my understanding, most of those I know that are successful in this industry have partnerships or JVs in place.

Does anyone know of any institutions or people that would lend cash similarly to a line of credit or some alternate option that would help us with buying homes to move into our properties?

I have read of people  getting HELOCs on their rental property, but I don't know how they are able to do it.

I understand why they are used, but personally I would rather leave a voicemail and have a warm body call me back than deal with another automated system.Think of it this way: if someone is so urgently looking to sell a property that they can't wait for a call back in 1 business day, do you think they are going to sit through some automated system?  

I'd love to connect with people in the industry.

I understand the guidance that most will give that any estimates will vary and you need to talk to multiple GCs and get multiple estimates.