I have been to a few big conferences, book launches, and numerous local meetups, but nothing can even come close to BPCON 2023 in Orlando last week.

or even to do that.

Be prepared to document where that cash came from - in your case, that's easy, your HELOC.Would be happy to help you with that sort of transaction if you want to reach out - I find a lot loan officers are unfamiliar that this option even exists. 

Anyone with lots of equity can raise capital privately even if their financials are not the best 

Even if you create a non-CA LLC, if you are managing the business from California, you will likely be deemed to be "doing business" in California and therefore likely subject to CA taxes.

The only way to legally operate one is a true owner occupant, and even that has some restrictions.  

BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

Even if I were sued, I document everything and obey the law, so I won't be found guilty.

Yes, it's a tough market even though the interests are still high.

Even the apartment bldg owners didn’t make a killing in equity; they mostly added new income, as the build cost of +/- $250,000 per unit didn’t provide much equity upside.