I'm just looking at it from a potential risk standpoint, and looking to give you some other experience you can learn from.It's a skill you can learn, but learning it from forum posts seems like a longshot.

Bryan,Are you talking about a Bridge loan where you can take out cash like a refinance until the home sells? 

If the trip is mostly personal, then only the expenses directly related to looking at potential investment properties would actually be deductible, which is likely rather minimal - maybe some gas or Uber costs to get there?

Rates have now decreased from averages in the mid-7's to now upper-5's, yet the market has not seen a "speed up" -- likely due to the seasonal swing, and the upcoming election. 2025 should see strong property value growth, with increased inventory, but also increased buyer activity with rates expected to continue downward. 

I noticed other companies charge the owner a fee like a $100 admin fee or something if we take over a property with a tenant the owner put in place and then have to evict them after a month to two later.

If there any investors or lenders out there that would like talk, DM me! 

If I were to do this, which I don't plan to for at least a few months (I would like to properly do my research) I was also curious whether or not people thought interest rates on HELOC LOANS were going to start going down or continue going up?

Like you, I was concerned about potentially triggering a due-on-sale clause with the lender.However, I spoke with my lender, and while he confirmed that technically this could trigger a due-on-sale clause, he also mentioned that in practice, it’s very rare.

Its like Fix and Flip loans/business purpose loans are now called "RTL's" real estate transition loans - same thing just different nameI know AAPL was trying to get away from the term "hard money" because for some it has a negative connotation but to me its all the same. 

You have some options like driving for $'s to look for distressed & abandoned properties.