There are many investors that look at promises ROI or interest rate and nothing more.  

The Fed raised rates and dropped the values of those T-Bills.

What was the interest rate and when you went to refinance what rate were they offering?

I assumed that shopping around for the best interest rate would be good enough.

That’s a 0.02% success rate—a 99.98% failure rate.The data couldn’t be clearer: you’re targeting the wrong audience.

Is there room to reprice water so it’s rational such that the heaviest users pay the highest rates vs today where the lightest users do, particularly in areas like CA?

Here is a recommendation I have for you as you begin to figure out what area you want to invest in.This website is a great reference point for figuring out what each area is like. https://www.areavibes.com/It gives you a total LIVABILITY score for each street and zip code & discusses crime rate, schoolsUse this rating and classification system I have created over time to get an idea of the "Class" for the area - A class B class & so onHere is my rating & classification for each livability score.80 and above A+78/79 A76/77 A-74/75 B+72/73 B70/71 B-68/69 C+66/67 C64/65 C-60/63 D59 and below FBest of luck and let me know if I can help answer any questions! 

Hence, this is maybe why your occupancy rate is dropping nowadays. 

HELOCs are usually variable rate and there may be yearly fees associated with maintaining the HELOC.

For example, what would the cash flow be like after you renovate and lease out at the new rates?