If the goal is a retirement type home or vacation home for older people, avoid steps and keep it more of a ranch style.If older people frequent the area you may do better making it an accessible home. 

Wholesalers can get you access to distressed properties. 

A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.Discounts on some products and services are offered to BP members: https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/proAlerts can be really helpful too: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

The HELOC application is in and with any luck, I will be able to access my funds again to get into another deal within the next 30 days. . .

I do not want to ignore real maintenance requests from him (as it is my job to react to those) but if I could I would block his number completely. 

Just a few blocks West of the 405 and one block North of  the 10 freeways and inside the new Metro-Rail 1/2 mile radius of the special incentive development rules to encourage more units for housing that allow new construction to have "special" or "liberal" allowances of set-backs, more height up to 5 stores where 4 were the max just prior. 

Refi is preferable if the money being accessed is for longterm purposes (ie buy/hold) and you plan to purchase another investment soon whereas a Heloc is preferable for short-term use (flip, rehab, etc.) and/or you want the ability to pull the trigger in the perhaps distant future if/when a deal presents itself.

I‘ve hIt a road block.

A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.Discounts on some products and services are offered to BP members: https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/proAlerts can be really helpful too: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

I don't see any previous sales in MLSPIN, but it could have been listed on the Berkshire MLS which I don't have access to.Last purchase was 3/8/19 for $70,000, which also seems to have been off market.