Read it, keep it handy, and read it again.Second: Security deposits MUST be held in a state chartered institution such as your local bank.

While you're right in some regard, I'd say the speculators were just the tools on which banks built their toxic balance sheets.Here are the 5 pieces of the housing bubble machine:United States GovernmentBill Clinton rewrites community reinvestment act in 1995 basically making mortgages available to most borrowersFinancial Institutions Originating NINJA Loans like crazy to repackage into mortgage backed securities (MBS) and sell to investorsESPECIALLY SUB PRIME MORTGAGES which generate the best yield Banks sold these off of balance sheet within 30 days of origination so as to never experience the penalty of booking a high risk loan (no collections expense and no charge off)Federal ReservePinned interest rates at zero bound to help recover from internet bubbleCreated a lot of leverage in capital markets to buy MBSIncentives for consumers to spend on housing and HELOCsHedge Funds buying Mortgage Backed SecuritiesHedge funds looking for yield had a great demand for MBS, especially on subprime debt (nobody defaults on mortgages, right?)

I believe you will hear the term on the podcasts for this known 'house hacking'.So the rates you see published are available to the ones with the best credit and the finance institutions deem a safe risk.Now if you buy the house as an investor or non owner occupied your rate will be higher than the published rates you see even if you have great credit because the banks look at non owner occupied purchases as a higher risk. 

Sometimes financial institutions will stamp it on the Note rather than providing the document.

I just got approved for a $10K unsecured LOC with my main institution and then got approved for another $10K unsecured LOC with a credit union.

Yes, opportunity cost is the value of the foregone alternative not taken.When you use institutional financing you can obtain a 75% LTV on your first investment property or perhaps cash out on a refi.As your portfolio grows lenders will begin reducing the loan to value, say to 70% on the 5th, may be the 12th, it is a way of reducing the lender's risk.

I starting scouring the internet and bigger institutions and it seems the lenders doing HELOCs on investment properties has dwindled. 

If theres no equity next option would be a short short and you need to find an season investor that can handle it for you aka negotiate the deal with  institution..

Hey Jacob, I would recommend top 10 ways to protect your assets (FREE E-Book) by Royal Legal.

Neighboring Mishawaka has one of the largest concentrations of retail stores in the state, and the entire region boasts affordable housing, over a dozen institutions of higher learning, easy transportation access and convenient commute times that average 20.2 minutes.