There is a very active REIA in Hagerstown called the HUB CITY REIA.

This is a small town (population approximately 1500) but it's only about 7 miles from some of the job hubs in the surrounding area. 

Hello BP,I am part of a start-up venue looking to serve as a shared work space and collaborative hub for real estate professionals to learn, grow, and connect with each other in downtown Tampa.

I think we'll see a little better disbursement of both the Promise and Hub Zone funds.  

Move forward to early 2015, hubs business started to struggle, and on a whim we found a HUD home that was foreclosed on.  

You have a good-sized university and are a regional hub for shopping and health care.

People renting out their condo in my complex is also around $2800+ being so close to shops like Target and Trader Joe's...and rumors of google moving in next door and being next to a major transportation HUB, the prices are justified here in Silicon Valley.So my question is, is it a bad idea or is it even possible to obtain a HELOC to obtain a 20% down on a new "move-up" home?

@Tzvi Balsam They are decent on properties that are in or near major population hubs. 45 min or more away from a large population severely decreases the likelihood of success for them.

That is why I recommend the purchase of a less expensive unit outside of the major hubs of SoCal.

Bit of background, my hubs is the brains of our real estate investment operation (he loves all things math & spreadsheets -- I'm slowly learning) and I'm looking to compliment his skill set with my own!