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. 

The guy who had it already had plans and setbacks approved through the city before it foreclosed.

When they help get a tenant approved quickly, I sent them cookies or candy as a thank you, and make a point to stop in when we're in FL.Condos/townhouses have been a good investment for us.

They are going to base the approval on how they feel about you and the numbers for this particular project.Portfolio or Commercial Lending is about RELATIONSHIPS!!!

The borrower draws when they need money and pay down both principal and interest monthly - If they need more money they draw again.I've approved maybe 1 in 12 700 FICO borrowers.