(See the JOBS Act of 2012, the part of which we're looking at was effective in September, 2013; the crowdfunding aspect is still waiting final rule approval by the SEC)  Jon was correct when he said you pool money, you sell securities and have all the duties and obligations that entails.  

There are a lot of Experienced Rehabbers that will gladly pay good points and high interest rate for HML for a lender that knows how to get deals closed and can be honest on their ability to fund a deal.I've heard Horror Stories where HML in Chicago have come back to the Borrower and asked them to cross collateralize on a deal 2 days before closing...it was the HML being greedy...and nothing is wrong with it, but when you approve a deal, you shouldn't come back with crazy conditions 2 days before closing...Best advice to John is also to consider that is the type of market you are dealing with in regards to HML too...if you don't know what you're doing a HML can cause you to lose your deal by offering "bait and switch" terms...Good Luck!

I saw the "HOA approval" requirement on most of the MLS listings when I was actively looking in St.

Nothing wrong with contacting the seller's agent, but they might want to see your approval letter from the lender if you are financing.Joe Gore

Before you did that I would get the buyers personal financial statement, net worth, liquidity, other properties they own, track record, etc. to know odds of the bank approving them.If the buyer is weak and only has the 30k down and no development track record the likelihood the bank would agree to an assumption is low.

However, after speaking with a mortgage broker we discovered our current approved amount is lower than expected due to the ownership of our current residence.

While there may be no extra cost here for properties in good condition, it’s worth having the property inspected by a professional building inspector to ensure that there are no hidden issues or problemsFinancing Details: You’ll want to talk to your lender or mortgage broker to get an idea (or better yet a letter of approval) about the cost of the loan and the necessary downpaymentIncome: Details about income should come directly from the seller, but as mentioned above, don’t rely on pro-forma data for final analysis.

On top of getting a heloc, should I be trying to get pre-approved for financing given the fact that I plan to invest remotely?  

So now that I know what I want should I get pre approved first or should I have an agent take me around show me some properties first.

Before a hard money lender will make you a loan, if your plan is to refinance they are/should want to see a pre approval letter from your lender stating you qualify for a refinance as they will want to know how they will get their money back and how fast they can expect it.