I  took this information and added it to our purchase process considerations.

My opinion is that those that want real estate to be a full time occupation should give serious consideration to studying commercial real estate.So, what do you think?  

I will take these lessons into consideration as I surf along.

After careful consideration we bought our first properties with them and have been very happy with the results.

Full disclosure, I am a Bank on Yourself Professional and would be happy to tell you more about it and determine if it is right for your situation.Hey Stephanie, Although rare there are HELOCs available for Non Owner Occupied investment properties(NOO), we write them all the time at Lower.com.2 points of consideration (1) Usually the Loan To Value you can borrow is slightly lower on a NOO. (2) If you do take it out on a primary you want to make sure you intend to own and occupy for 12 months

That will pretty significantly reduce the net taxable income amount.The net taxable income is then run through the trust tax table, which actually tops out at 37%, but on a graduated scale.Your vague "profit" number makes it impossible to provide an accurate representation in this scenario, but I suspect the net taxable amount would be considerably less than how you are evaluating this.

And not that I would use it, but I have yet to receive the $250,000/$500,000 pre-approval they promised for all in attendance.Glass half full, they did provide certain meals, a couple of cocktails and a guided bus tour of investment "opportunities", which they applied considerable pressure for offers on, one with a suggested "ARV" that was at least $100k above highly reliable AVM (automated valuation models) I have access to.Overall, I say stay away, unless their Funding Tour comes within driving distance and then only so you can see for yourself. 

Attainable rents went up considerably. 

Your concern is a good one, buying in this market at high rates = high payments and you may not cashflow if you were to repeat the process.However, 2 considerations. (1) By not doing it you don't have 800-1000 in your pocket, so although the payment on the new place might be higher than in a normal market you've got extra funds to cover it.(2) Your new rate is not forever, perhaps in this high rate market, it's as you say, best case you're breaking even if you repeat this process.

They calculate your expectant DTI in consideration of you using 100% of your HELOC.