People are telling me that the market in EP is very slow and I might have difficulty finding a seller.

Doesn't make it any less legal, however :PBy that logic, you would almost want to work MORE with a licensed wholesaler since he/she would have to tread lightly.Moreover, once could argue that there are more experienced unlicensed wholesalers than licensed ones, and it's experience that you fear (fear of getting taken advantage of) when you hear "licensed."

Any concerns with the current mortgage holder in doing a deal like this from any of you pleasantly experienced investors? 

You see it a lot in old buildings that are remodeled due to the difficulty in adding chases and the desire to leave the structure exposed for aesthetics.

I then performed cash-out refinances to pay off the HELOC loans and lock the properties into a low fixed rate mortgage.The difficulty was, in my own personal experience, doing cash-out refinances is more expensive and the rates are much higher than conventional financing.  

Using SF to circumvent institutional loan guidelines and requirements generally will not work with more experienced buyers of loans.  

So my question to experienced vinyl plank users is will the planks take 1/2"or is the 1/4" measure really the upper limit and not just a value that is determined for long term warranties.

There's been difficulties setting up my checking account at the local bank and rollover of my funds from Fidelity.

Glad to see you want to avoid some of the failures that many have experienced, but I’m sure your construction and RE background will put you in a pretty good position for achieving your investment goals.

You should come by the Denver BP meetup sometime - there are plenty of folks there who are also just getting started, as well as many experienced investors.