Loan programs that utilize AirDNA income projections to qualify can also be utilized for cash out refinances (if not currently operated as an AirBNB) although some lenders have a maximum cash in hand of $500k-$1M typically at a lower loan to Value of 65-75% for investment property vacation rentals. 

They accepted terms for creative financing for 1 year allowing me time to improve rents and refinance with very little down payment.

She routinely gets loans for $20k to $50k for her acquisitions, and then after she has enough, she refin's into a portfolio loan with several properties, and then starts again.

., sale, refinance), so the lender knows how you plan to repay them.

When you do that and refinance, you're leaving less in the deal than you would if you were to purchase it upfront with financing.

You want to break down your preference in regard to sale price, down payment, program, (SFR/MFH), seasoning is important, and the two R's you want to pay most attention to is the Renovate and Refinance.Most investors make the mistake on the renovate or refinance and sometimes both.You also have to figure out if your buying as a Primary or investment because if you buy as a primary you always refinance before you rent. 

Question 1: should I wait for mortgage rates to come down and then refinance and take out a HELOC and use these funds to buy another property?

I would think carefully about selling versus doing a cash out refinance.

Depending on the cause of the taxes it could be offset with write off's, deductions, carry overs, etc.You could always take out a loan through a cash out refinance to pay off or down the lien.

welcome to bp, your sentiment around leverage is 100% correct, and I'd challenge you to follow your own advice and use that leverage to put as little as possible into the real estate rather than the coveted "pay cash for it" or while one can pay cash, utilizing your w2 to refinance is a unique skill and ability you can have.house hacking in the mid west is where its at for sure.