It's a great plan, but I've had difficulty finding competitive terms on HELOCs based on my investment properties.  

So investing in a "hot" market is like buying a growth stock with the anticipation that the "inflated/competitive" price you are paying in time 0 will still be less than the price at Time N.... this is exacly the opposite strategy I am looking for with rental properties.

Investigator at market rate is, make sure your competitive yet not leaving money on the table, etc.

I'm already looking into a few other lenders but was told that I may want to also look into local Tucson banks since they may end up providing the most competitive quotes.

GA is one of the best states to do this.. sales are only once a month so very easy to follow... hedge fund competition has died way down and unless your looking to buy 10 to 20 props a month..it should be a piece of cake for the average investor to pick up one or two a month with a little bit of study and work ethic.

I try to stay competitive and provide a similar product for less cost.  

He has adopted the buy and hold strategy where he upgrades the units with granite countertops, new carpet, paint throughout and W/D's, then just sets the rent at the rate of the (normally furnished) comps to set himself above the competition which allows him to find the better tenants that way.

When the markets are hot like they are now, a lot of people switch over to selling these programs because it can be more profitable then actually doing real estate with the increased competition and lower margins.

@Sanjeev Vij Yeah Man - There are deals to be made, like you said you need hustle harder and faster than your competition.

Lockstate is partnering with competition and other related business in this space to stay ahead of the game.