What I want is the ability to get something like a line of credit set or pre-approval as it were up so I can be confident when going out and shopping for deals that I have the funding to back up my offers.

Blocks homes, B or C neighborhoods, etc?

Stop shopping until you have secured financing.

Thought I would share our success so far and some before/after pictures.We purchased our house in an up and coming Clearwater, FL neighborhood that is very close to the Pinellas trail (a great biking/walking trail that runs the length of our county and is a huge feature in our parts) and just 2 miles from booming downtown Dunedin, FL with tons of great restaurants, breweries, shops, and festivals. 

Maybe do your due diligence and have them to bid on your projects or ride through neighborhoods being renovated and write down the numbers of the GC. plus you'll get to see them and their work in action.

Shop around for banks, one will eventually say yes. 

My guess is something like the swiss national bank, along with their 80 billion in us stock purchases, went shopping for some real estate with their freshly printed francs.

Help the borrowers, which helps the neighborhood, which helps the town, and the country as a whole. 

Second one, in the same neighborhood, I used hard and private money to purchase and will be doing a refi with a local bank shortly. 

Shop around with another insurance company.