Improve the grade if water flows toward or pools near the house.

For an unrenovated 1+Den/1BA LTR in our section of Northeast though, $1,300-1,400/month is certainly in the ballpark of what I could comfortably get with some very minor improvements to the space between tenants.So all that being said, I think your target of $1,500-1,600/month for your 2BR units would be more than doable. 

Shortly after Roofstock acquired them I have seen improvements and haven't had issues with bank account connectivity.  

Your 1031 will ultimately be only as good as the individuals directly assigned to your exchange.  

For example, if the listing is selling for 200% of the last purchase of two years ago with no improvements, etc.?

Would my previous industry experience (property management, acquisitions, asset management, Realtor) improve my chances of qualifying for a DSCR loan?

Learn to outperform the market by looking at property entry values and resale values based on improvement.

I would make one distinction and that’s between an expense and a capital improvement. 

US Treasuries will not see their credit rating improve, and will, within the next 12-24 months get another (small) downgrade, inching up treasury yields.

And keep in mind that the rate on the 2nd lien will likely be 10-12% so depending on the cash flow it might not actually yield that much cash to you at closingMore importantly, it's just more debt so ultimately it sounds like you need an income-producing event to actually improve your situation and avoid some of the consequences that you mentioned