A cash out refinance puts the cash into your bank and can be used as PITI reserves or as an asset.A Heloc becomes another trade line on credit which can potentially cause a higher DTI and lower your chances for future approvals.

I would also ensure my family has a six month emergency fund for ourselves that is not part of the investment money, since buying your first property puts yourself in a more risky situation initially.

What sort of cap rates are small multifamily properties trading at these days in Vegas? 

My wife and I have been investing here since 2015- we do several flips a year and have 20 rental units we self-manage.I'm a licensed Home Inspector and licensed General Contractor. 20 years in the trades.

I recommend you join the local state trade association for mobile home park owners, and you will probably learn a lot and learn a lot of names of attorneys and others that can help you.

So knowing scope would help narrow down on risk mitigation tactics.I guess at the end of the day, it all comes down to knowing what is needed, order of operations, and having as close to true quotes from reputable contractors in hand.Beyond that, really knowing all that is needed and having those extremely detailed scope of works for each trade before you get your bids.  

Covid emergency has officially ended but for some reason there is more applicants with bad rental histories that are begging for fresh start.

I recommend spending a little extra money and pay to have trade specific people inspect the property too, not just an inspector.

He explained that as a fairly new investor, 5 years, that if he was in my position he would save the extra funds for his emergency fund or eventually use the accumulated extra money to buy his next investment.

As Michael said, it depends on if you got to the level of a trade or business when it comes to lending.Some important things that will determine this are1) The amount of loans you are originating on an annual basis2) What your intent is when forming this partnership3) The value of the loans you are originating compared4) etcBest of luck