Upon entering the home the numerous upgrades will immediately stand out including luxury vinyl flooring, new fireplace and new open floor plan.

*Listening to real estate podcasts (obviously bigger pockets)*Reading books (open to suggestions, currently in the middle of David Greene’s brrrr book)*Learning the community via the web (Zillow, realtor, etc.)

It sounds like you've already spoken with some hard money lenders, but generally you can either reach out to them via phone and have a loan officer walk you through the process, or attempt their web form on your own.When I find a property that fits my criteria, I assume I will need the money before making the offer...What are the steps here?

They have no way to know who falls into the numerous positions protected by this law, and it would be too cumbersome to constantly update all of their addresses in the database even if they could track it. 

They have an app and a desktop web app.

So if numerous large claims come into to the insurer (maybe a large natural disaster), they could not have the money to pay out and go out of business leaving you with no recourse. 

Additionally, there are generally numerous other costs associated with hard money loans such as origination points, appraisal fees, etc.Speaking with a number of lenders can give you a good idea of the liquidity they'll expect you to have for a certain loan amount, and most won't get too far into the loan application process if they know that you won't be able to support the loan request.Best,Michael

The first option should be the city's web site.

I was impressed with their web site and found their arsenal of podcasts.

There is a bunch of free information on the web and on this site in particular.