Method 1 is much more certain in creating equity to then use on a heloc and method 2 is going straight to work... thoughts. am brand new to the area. very little if any SOI.

I fear the original poster skipped the "please don't smoke inside" part and went straight to "leave my property". 

Use that as motivation to save up for the down payment.For saving for the down payment, look at your debt, expenses, etc and see how to get rid of any debt (it will limit what you can buy), cut expenses and increase your income (second job, odd jobs on the side).  

Better than that, we will cut your payments!

You should also check out the Straight Up Chicago Investor's podcast.

I have both W2 income and rental income, so the numbers are straight forward and fixed. 

Leaving work with multiple small cuts and bruises every day is the norm.

I'm unsure how I can get a clear cut answer to if the contract is void or active, given this.

Being a recent college graduate and I am in the process of getting hired for a job right now and plan on going straight into the real estate game once I have capital. 

I have tried to live this quote in my life and is probably the reason I love to train people on how to do things in my 9-5 career more than anything else I do.So, I'm back and ready to get going in this amazing business again and saw the BP website and all of the resources here as the smartest and fastest way to cut down the learning curve.