But we could not personally afford the mortgage on this place without a renter.

I don't know anyone there personally doing it like we do, but it's something to consider.The other option, of course, is to just try and bump up your expected monthly cost from 10% to something like 12% - 15%.

This is since 1) there's no penalty for age so it doesn't matter when you use it 2) the longer the retirement asset exists the more chance it has to grow tax deferred or tax free 3)if you are retirement age then using your personal assets first will likely place you in the lowest possible tax bracket when you start drawing those funds. 

If your income is strong and taxes are accurately reported, you have a shot. 90% of investors write off more than they make so this upside down calculation is what causes the average person to qualify for HELOCs.

You can not 1031 exchange a personal residence.

I  would be looking for something near one of the many creek revitalization projects personally (I am hopefully playing a long game).

The program could take a while depending on your own personal journey but it depends on how much money you have saved, how much debt you are in, what your credit is like and how consistent you are with payments etc.

Usually the person in charge of marketing will do this for you and will add you to a mailing list.

Someone familiar with your city will respond, where as the Starting Out forum has a slim chance of catching the eye of the right person.

I could see this being useful in a BRRRR scenario, but in that case you could be looking at a much longer term loan than 30-60 days, especially given supply chain issues and the uncertainty of the person being able to qualify for the cash out loan as rates continue to climb.