In the beginning you are at a natural knowledge disadvantage to a contractor because you don't know know how to rehab and can be taken for a ride - I was.

Understand all of the disadvantages and how they work...

There is no advantage having tenants on term leases, in fact it is to the tenants advantage/landlords disadvantage. 

I am curious if there are any downsides or disadvantages to getting a real estate license as an investor?  

One of the disadvantages of the inner-city home is the age of the property.

Each crowdfunding platform is different and they all have their advantages and disadvantages.

As some said, the fact that you have $0 in the deal is somewhat of a disadvantage because you have nothing to lose and from a lender's perspective this can be a down side.Don't think he's the only person out there.

Could anyone shine some light on the advantages and disadvantages of going with a cash out vs. a HELoC?

That's a very different experience for which you may be disadvantaged relative to other investors.  1031 what you've got locally into a different asset class (larger MFR or commercial).That equity you've got is basically locked in real estate - refinancing to access it is probably the most attractive option if the equity is very large.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.Equity participation in a flip transaction is considered a trade or business activity, and if your plan will conduct such operations on a regular or repeated basis, you will be creating unrelated business taxable income (UBTI).