I've been looking to invest in a few single family rental properties..

Many tenants would just ignore this issue, and we all what happens when water leaks are ignored.Keep investing and moving forward!

Hello,Sort of new here...We have been investing and managing about 3 years now.

Becasue I have a lot of RE investment experience I now mentor.

I'm not factoring revenue from selling the homes in to my analysis - my major concern is reducing operating costs.

Yes, you should be able to do this, so long as the DTI for the Conventional loan works once the new minimum pmt on the Heloc is factored into your debts.

Passive real estate investing still requires enormous amounts of due diligence and monitoring.

Investors, interest rates for short-term loans are on the move! Here's a quick look at the recent trends across different markets:
Orange, CA: Down by 1.43%
Pinellas (Tampa), FL: Down by 0.78%
Dallas, TX: Down by 0...

I have some investment money and I am also looking for a partner!

Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.