HI Damien,I have considered using a HELOC for short-term expenditures such as fixing up a rental property, but I'm not sure it's a good choice for a long term buy & hold. 

Also, if the house has a new roof, new water heater, and furnace, and/or newly painted exterior then you may be able to justify decreasing your budget for capital expenditures and repairs/maintenance.

The DC real estate market also fared well throughout the 2008 financial crisis due to the massive government expenditures intended to support the economy.

Preliminary history: Land originally bought vacant and with no entitlements for $1,500,000 (free and clear).Entitlement planning costs: $250,000Construction Documents costs: $350,000Total All-In Expenditures so far: $2,100,000 (land + soft costs) After obtaining entitlements and general market appreciation, the value of land is indicated at roughly $2,500,000Basic Rough Math (not actual numbers): Cost of Construction: $10,000,000Market Cost of Land (free and clear): $2,500,000Total Project Cost: $12,500,000Financing Needed: $10,000,000 (assume all FFE, interest reserves, contingencies, hard costs, etc. are included)Financing Assumptions: Loan to Cost: 85% (SBA)Maximum LTC Loan Amount: .85*$12,500,000 = $10,625,000Equity Required: 15% = .15*$12,500,000 = $1,875,000 (Equity in land exceeds this)Actual LTC = $10,000,000/$12,500,000 = 80% Based on early conversations with a lender, they indicated a cash injection would still be required.

The one thing i don't see mentioned is to make sure you get the expenses on this one and know if you need to make any immediate capital expenditures for the building. 

And LPs can rely on our assumptions across all aspects of income, expenses and capital expenditure plans. 

You're probably forgetting capital expenditures for example.Rent of $3600 means your NOI is $1800 following the 50% rule.

You can essentially call it day labor help and still have it as money expenditures.

What if the property needs repairs or capital expenditures before you had a chance to build the reserve fund up?

Many people are aware of the option period, which allows the buyer to conduct a physical inspection of the house and check for major capital expenditure issues such as HVAC, roof, plumbing, etc.