My first question is why can’t they qualify for a better loan now, such as DSCR or even a HELOC?

With a HELOC, determination, due diligence, and a bit of luck, I am confident that I will achieve success in this REI.

My challenge is that I don't want to sell my current home; I want to rent it.I can't decide if I should borrow from an IRA, Heloc, or refinance my current house, which is also 2.5%.

Do a HELOC on it and then take the money and buy another investment property in New York or or a landlord friendly state or a place you'd like to travel often and then use it as an AIRBNB the remaining time.

Since the start of the year, I've read a handful of BP books:- Rental Property Investing (Brandon Turner)- How to Invest in Real Estate (Brandon Turner/Josh Dorkin)- Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down (Brandon Turner)- BRRRR (David Greene)- Multifamily Millionaire Volume 1 (Brandon Turner/Brian Murray)- Start with Strategy (Dave Meyer), currently readingI was thinking of using the equity to BRRRR small multifamily properties and combine some concepts from both the BRRRR and Multifamily Millionaire books (specifically making cash offers via HELOC to secure distressed properties, ideally vacant to set market rents).

Quote from @Mavely Pazmino:We want to use a hard money lender and use HELOC for 20% down payment… should I be worried that once I buy and rehab I wont get a high enough ARV to refinance in order to payback my HELOC and HML?

I would look at a cash out refinance instead of a Heloc for a few reasons but the main reason is a Heloc is a burden on the property since its in 2nd lien position.

@Najeh Davenport so you paid cash but you still have the heloc to pay.

If you decided you needed to tap into all the appreciation later, you could take out a HELOC or cash-out-refinance (if rates fall again).

If you have enough equity in your current home, you could look at taking out a HELOC against it.