I bought these properties cheap, had them fixed up and not have they appreciated a lot that also generate a nice tax free cash flow that goes back into my IRA to be redeployed into more properties.This is a huge tax free money maker. 

There's so much important info you can learn about neighborhoods (and individual properties) that simply cannot be conveyed by peoples' opinions, photos, or even video.As with all parts of due diligence: although you can (and should) seek the input of experienced pros, at the end of the day, the due diligence buck stops with you.Good luck out there!

NO reputable lender asks for funds upfront besides appraisal fee.Have heard MANY horror stories related to upfront fee lenders and it rarely ends well.

Does anyone know of a lender who specializes in lending money for long-term government-backed deals (public of private lenders)?

You would want an closed end second mortgage instead of a HELOC for a long term cash use like a down payment.

Mine says 60 days prior to end of lease.  

@Alicia Marks @Rakumarudu Nijam - I used RLS, but many years back.

Everyone gets their initial investment back and the rest is divided how? 

It really comes down to the market, and what the property value is in that area on the low and high end to see if your return will come back. 

However, I feel like there's a lot of potential to run into a lot of walls/pitfalls that can cost a ton of time/money if I do this route.At the end of the day, I want to put a lot of emphasis on using the newest technologies to streamline the business as much as possible.