But the mortgage is still too high. 

Wondering if it will be a waste in fees paid to either HELOC or Cashout Refi because there may be a possibility of having to sell to get the primary residence we want next year and end up paying Realtor fees to sell it. 

Lenders or investors who have short lock up periods but have years of experience feeding their business with new capital would give me more comfort but anyone who is just starting and is promising a rate of return or return of capital in a set period of time would be alarming because they very well could be reliant on fresh capital to make good on that promise and that usually ends poorly.

I talk to so many people who regret not getting a PM up front because they are having problems or high eviction rates doing it alone.

you can use a DSCR loan if your DTI is too high for conventional. 

Case Study: A Successful Joint Venture in Real Estate - An investor identifies a distressed property with high potential but lacks the funds to purchase and renovate it. - The investor partners with a private lender who provides the capital.

If you ever incur a state income tax in MO, you would typically be able to take that amount paid as a credit against your KS taxes paid, so you won't end up double taxed to both states.

Last time when I called everyone I ended up with them.

I highly recommend the book real estate by the numbers.

Some strategies to get around are:1. leverage your current portfolio and buy in cash, increase value, and then refi2. buy Multi-family so your ratios aren't the main factor to lenders3. get in with a lender for high net worth individuals4.