What specific roles do brokers hold that agents should not? 

Laws are super local, changing from one place to another, so it's a smart move to get a lawyer to tailor that lease specifically for your spot.

Did you have a specific question here?

If you have specific questions or encounter challenges along the way, seeking guidance from professionals in the real estate financing industry can be beneficial. 

I know you will find a ton of encouraging and helpful people here.Regarding HELOC I suggest you connect with my good friend @Michael Barbari...I believe they can still do up to 90% which is 10% more than most banks.If you need any other specific connections here in Chicago I am happy to provide them. 

I'm interested in buying a vacation rental in the area, I do not have any specific property picked out at this time. 

Pay for an area, industry specific listing with credit ratings below xxx.4. 

It’s probably useful to ask specific people what their experience has been and go from there. 

For your first unit, unless hiring outside management which means giving up 20% of earnings, you're going to have quite a hurdle to operate a place remotely.I don't necessarily think looking at market specific data around the country and thinking you can just dive into that market and do well makes much sense.

If we devolve into discussing the shortcomings of US presidents or specific politicians, probably time to close the thread.