However, once you start renting it out, those renovation expenses could be added to your cost basis, potentially lowering capital gains taxes when you sell.

That's all good and well, it sounds like you probably screen your tennats great which itself should lower your chances of ever having a firefight with them.

Also, is the Traverse City area still the Lower Peninsula ski destination? 

LTR offers predictable cash flow, less management, and lower income.

The lower you get down in rate the more that payback has some diminishing returns.

The term Diversified Core Equity style typically reflects lower risk investmentstrategies utilizing low leverage and generally represented by equity ownership positions in stable U.S. operating properties.There are currently 25 private funds that are included in the index.So in short, only this froum is tracking private data from an institutional private core-only real estate syndication.They're tracking core-add only and un-levered position.Here is the return of Commerial Private Real Estate core-only unlevered position for 4 quarter :        Q1__Q2___Q3____Q4____Annual 2007 3.71% 4.82% 3.68% 1.90% 14.84%2008 1.15% 0.09% -0.85% -11.04% -10.70%2009 -13.89% -9.24% -7.52% -3.70% -30.40%2010 0.51% 4.09% 5.22% 4.70% 15.26%..2022 7.14% 4.54% 0.31% -5.17% 6.55%2023 -3.38% -2.88% -2.10%  n/aAnnualized net return from Q4 last year : -15% !!!

It is an upfront cost for a lower rate forever.

Used a local attorney to handle the closing docs for a lower fee.

Even if they don't catch you now, they will catch you later when you try to sell a 2.5 bath that is only a 1.5 bath and the lower bath needs to be removed and capped.

My goals would be to increase monthly cash flow and have more access to the property's equity for things like Cap Ex, etc....Here's a blurb from a lender's website:"By combining banking functionality with home financing into one dynamic instrument, borrowers are able to save tens of thousands of dollars and years off their loan""Designed after popular programs around the world, the All In One First Lien HELOC is the nation’s first transactional offset type-mortgage program.Home financing and banking combined:Deposits lower your loan’s principalFunds remain available for expensesInterest is calculated on the average daily balanceThis lowers the monthly interest paymentsTens of thousands of dollars can be saved over the life of the loanMortgage freedom can be achieved in half the time or less