I need to get some form of "proof of funds" letter together.

Although I plan on subbing out the PM to a local guy up in Cleveland, the company I work for has direct flights daily, so getting to and from wouldn't be an issue.So the question I have is this; would it be better to use the money in the account to purchase a SFR outright and collect the cashflow, building up enough capital to purchase another then another house, or would it be a better idea to leverage out that money and pick up a couple of units (or maybe even a quad or two?)

My current plan is to connect with a motivated delinquent property owner who will accept a small payment to sign their property over to me and then market the property for a discount below current market value or allow the county to sell the property and collect the excess proceeds.

I can email him a question or needing proof of insurance sent to somebody and he's on it in 10 minutes .  

To determine the market resale value, utilize Craigslist, Land Watch, Land and Farm, EBay, Zillow, and/or any other other online resource to collect comps for vacant properties of similar size in nearby areas.

By contrast if you close on this refinance and 2 weeks later rent it out to someone... that looks VERY different to any reasonably objective person.Always remember that most of the time, a mortgage loan servicer just wants to sit there and collect monthly payments.

The PM probably doesn't mind as he collects a whole month's rent every year in addition to the monthly fees.

If you extract the original equity and sit on the cash to deploy at an opportune time you can always use it to pay back the loan if you're struggling collecting rent to cover the mortgage.  

Met a really cool and collective REA with a portfolio and she has her contacts but she's never heard of this site.

I'm also exempt for Social security ( meaning I don't pay into it anymore- so I will not collect much come retirement age).