I came to hate IKEA because of horrible, terrible customer service.

And yeah, I can even theoretically see how lying would be a terrible idea.I am actually planning to live in one unit of the investment property.

There are those who have had good experiences, and some that have had terrible experiences with them, and it varies a LOT by office.  

With what optimistically is $400/month positive cash flow it is costing you $3.75 for every dollar you are earning.This property is a terrible investment.

I would say to use the HELOC to assist with the purchase, keep it for repairs and maint or if something terrible happens, and then mortgage out the actual property.

A good contractor can fix almost anything on a bad house, but a bad contractor or a badly written contract can easily turn a good investment into a terrible one.

I felt terrible and awesome, what I had for a down payment for a house ($2k) I completely wiped out my balance off one of my credit cards.

My cash flow, albeit smaller is 100% FREE to me, as I have no money invested to earn it, and I still have my original investment which I can use to repeat the process. the return on investment for a 100K house that makes 1000/month is 12%but a 100K house with a 100K mortgage that makes $200/month is infinite. also, when your house is paid off you have  terrible return on equity, it's important for us to all maximize what resources we have in all areas.

Host open houses for other agents in your brokerage and take any referral or lead you get in the beginning regardless of how terrible it is.

Mainly I mean that he was terrible to deal with through his tenancy, and gave me grief every chance he got.