We will choose our general contractor based upon reputation, references from my own commercial construction contacts (I have held a LA State - Building Construction license since 2001), their solvency, then finally their proposed bid.

I apologize if I wasn't clear on my question, I didn't really go into my plans for how I would invest as I didn't think it really pertained to my question, yes I know I should not purchase a rental using a HELOC and certainly that wasn't the plan.Whether it be a flip or brrrr, I would use some investment vehicle that would allow me to pay back the money.Roll into as when I purchase my next primary home, use the equity towards the house.The premise of my question was just is owning a home expensive enough now to where it'd be worth putting more money towards it when purchasing to lower payment/pay off quicker, or would it still be worth it to use all of that money towards other real estate. 

Some owned are inside ROTH IRA'S so I will never pay or owe ANY tax or capital gains on the profits.Some are 1000% tax free profit, before adding in the accumulated tax free rental income, If you finding better investments, I'd love to hear the details.I tried to use a financial calculator once, it just got real hot and burst into flames.

What additional services or support, beyond financing, do real estate investors value when working with a private or hard money lender?

Lake Geneva has a license requirement for Airbnbs which will make it difficult to skate under the radar. 

My uncle is part of the RHA and has found it helpful https://www.rhawa.org/I keep meaning to check it out but haven't since I can get so much second hand information off of him and others I know in real estate.

I'm excited about buying my first home as I pursue a duplex here in Houston to launch my real estate journey.

@Jay LindgrenRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

This would be my first real estate transaction. 

This latter group is called "REO" (for "real estate owned").