I have talked to multiple banks and credit unions in the area and they have all told me that federal regulations do not allow me to use my heloc to buy real estate.

Best banks for long distance passive investors seeking umbrella REI/renter’s insurance for multiple SFR buy and hold properties?

Full Stop.The OP needs to cash flow and be proficient at screening and managing multiple units/properties.

According to my step-dad that house got caught on fire multiple times.

My investment style is fairly conservative (multiple buy/hold rentals) balanced with low-cost index ETFs in our 401ks and brokerage account.

Multiple times, the CPA can produce a short 1-page Income Statement or Balance Sheet, but in reality, if you want details, it's more than a page long. 

You've been trying to buy a house to no avail. 15-20 offers, multiple fall through and bidding houses up. 3.

(ex. if you have a property that cash flows 200/m or 2400/yr and you have 20,000 of your own money in the property, then the property COC would be 2400/20000 or .12) a 12% return, the multiplication of 100 just removes the decimal point. so you would make 12% a year on that money you personally put into the property. 

Additionally, if investing is something they are interested in, it is likely not going to be in note investing or real estate because their likely method of investment is retirement/401k.So, on one occasion, before I even considered seller financing as a viable option, I researched to see who the seller was via public records and whether they owned multiple properties.

I have been crunching the numbers on some properties and the numbers just don't seem to add up.I've got estimates from multiple portfolio lenders and they are offering me interest rates in the 7%-8% range.