:(I have been able to raise rents on a few properties to get everything covered, but a few of the houses would be at a price point that would be nearly impossible to rent out in our small town.

Or maybe not so near future, considering the IRS notoriously being decades behind on technology.Once your return is on an auditor's desk, he decides on the scope of the issues to be raised.

They say that the money raised will go toward reserves. 

However, if this total income number is negative it will count against you like any other liability would (think car loan or other mortgages with no rental income or credit card min monthly payments/etc) against your DTI.DTI is typically maxed out around 45-50%, so half of your monthly figure so if you make 10,000 gross per month your max liability at @50% DTI is 5000 a month max payment.

Last, there are a ton of unsecured loan options for you if you have decent credit (usually 700+) and low credit card utilization (under 30%). 

Most people get a yearly raise.

In 2020 the house was 75% done and I had to re appraise the house and get a new loan to pay off all my credit cards, personal loans, etc.

But if you are already worried about paying back that HELOC out of the property you buy, you are creating a house of cards from the start depending on how good of a buyer you are.

i get cards, calls and texts every day from wholesalers for my little portfolio - so that shows you how much competition there is out there.it's also tough to do as a beginner in real estate, because the best wholesalers surface strong deals and know how to estimate a rehab.  

What are the must knows for raising capital for private money or hard money lending?