I'm desperately searching for a financing option for my spec homes that will give me better terms than the 10-12% interest plus $10k closing costs that my current HML is giving me.I tried doing buyer-financed, but the...

Residents are fighting new industrial developments thereby raising the value of existing industrial buildings.

The short is, you shouldn't be looking to invest right now, you should be looking to learn and connect with other local investors.You have home ownership under your belt, so you want to build on that.

Ultimately our main goal build a portfolio of multiple different types of investment properties, buy and holds, rental properties, and fix/flips; but the wholesaling side of real estate seems like an attractive venture as we are just starting with little capital and it could provide us with a revenue stream to become a cash buyer. 

The numbers get tight as soon as you get some vacancy over the years.Your idea is to grow your portfolio taking cash out of your 2 properties so that you can buy two more to balance and have  better cash flow.This is how I would look at it:- Properties are constantly in red, if a few vacancies are causing you to get in red you are not building your reserve fund.- To expand your portfolio you have to think on doing self-property management, or refinancing to get more properties won't resolve the issue and add more problems.

We've also done some build to rent with some local smaller builders.

If you need any specific information regarding the skip tracing, please let me know.I’m looking more for building a list based on criteria 

Specifically, I'm in need of referrals for contractors experienced in handling the unique challenges of renovating low-income rental properties, including single-family homes and small apartment buildings.

It is partly your job to "sell" him on it, and partly an education and relationship-building game from your end.Also, take a look at the buildings history, when it has last sold for, if it has bounced around on the market or not etc. 

I am eager to absorb knowledge, gain insights, and build valuable relationships in the industry.