I think this is a perfect thread of someone searching for the secret sauce.

I seems that people don't want to give away the special sauce.

Bun, Burger, lettuce, Sauce, Etc.

Take a security deposit, then eat the rabbit...I would suggest cooking on a Green Egg with hickory wood, then serve with a sauce you can make with cracked pepper, and a Cherry Preserve, and balsamic vinegar.

Note: investors have often spent years and many thousands of dollars (in bad work) finding good contractors and will be reluctant to blast out names of their key ressources to just anyone who asks; it's their secret sauce.2.)

Can anyone give me the secret sauce to finding a HELOC / LOC Lender for an owner-occupied duplex? 

BUT here is the secret in the sauce..

The secret sauce is a good Realtor who 1) understands the STR market (not just "sells real estate") there; 2) ideally is an investor themselves; and 3) has experience working with many other out of state investors.You need someone who is BUSY - who sells A LOT of property in this niche. 

Either, as you go through stuff you decide it's not worth the hassle, or he starts having to write down things like "the carpet was 5 years old, so I decided I didn't have to clean it" and "my girlfriend said she was going to clean the stove, but she didn't" or "That orange stain is BBQ sauce, but someone else spilled it, so it's not my fault". 

That's the secret sauce, renting by the room.