@Nicole Sorensen Hull, You can certainly access spending money by borrowing against a property  but borrowing money from equity does not relieve you from recognizing gain.  

It seems counter-intuitive that they would give me tips to access their same agents or contractors as it seems we would then be competing for the same deals from the agent, priority time with the contractor, etc.  

I've read that lenders won't include STR income, therefore I could be blocking myself out.6.  

It's a pretty hot market right now but you have an edge on the flippers because you are planning to owner occupy as well as fix it yourself so your price point can be a little higher and you will get early access to Fannie Mae, HUD, etc foreclosures. 

There is a lot of hype around this industry but it has the potential to address some market needs, namely an alternative to hard money lending and access to direct property investments at more modest exposure.

Granted I know you are not hitting specific target homes but what if your piece went to every home on multiple blocks in target area and it hits some target homes but also hits homes that open channels to target homes.

But because so few beginners can, there is a whole industry devoted to getting you to sign up for no-money-down access to rivers of magical dollars. $1000+ fees later, they usually still hold all the cards and can refuse to fund deals that they don't like the look of or if they don't have the funds from your end Buyer in escrow! 

Sure it's great to have access to the MLS and reduce your purchase by 3% (or whatever).

to answer your question Mark- I used public data as I currently don't have access to the MLS.

Every block is different and some are definitely dicey, but there are some inexpensive properties that can be turned around and offer some appreciation potential.