When we sent them our lease to review, they backed out saying we asked a lot of personal questions during the background check and after looking at the lease we should consider what kind of landlords we want to be. 

NO GREAT DEAL ONLINEI keep hearing that "only off-market deals are great deals."

Most HML lenders cap at 75k-100k minimum (with some going as low as 50k but I personally don't know one that can do 30k).

Keep track of your local laws and just ignore these people. 

Im working on filing an eviction, but I do not want the electric in my name any longer because it just isn’t right for me to keep paying if they are not paying me.

I personally recommend looking into the Columbus OH market.

Renters insurance price will vary depending on the value of the renters' personal possessions (furniture, clothing, artwork, jewlry, etc... whatever the renter chooses to have the policy cover) in the rental  the liability amount will be added to that base. 

I do my own book-keeping and taxes, so don't have a CPA to consult.Thanks for any advice!

In my case, I wanted to keep my mortgage payment low, so I decided not to do a cash-out refinance and instead opt. for the HELOC.Either way, it sounds like you have some great equity to leverage to achieve your goals.

Personally, I find that buying is usually quicker and cheaper upfront, while building offers customization but requires more time and coordination.