Even if you only do this for a year, the money you will save yourself up front will be substantial. 

Either the seller needs to pay the lien at settlement (if there is a lender involved... see below) or the buyer needs to factor in taking care of the lien immediately.

I took out a home equity with one credit union and they went off the tax assessement, which in my case was substantially higher than what an appraisal would have come back with.

We did pull a heloc a 2 years ago to pay off some substantial debt.

I was able to force a substantial amount of equity. 

Call and set up appointments with different firms.Count on spending  some money and potentially not making any money in year 1 (again potentially), commercial properties while typically much higher, also tend to be for sale much longer and the time from LOI (letter of intent) and closing can be substantial. 

From Form 253G2, Filed with the SEC  03-30-2018:Risks Related to Investing in Groundfloor Common StockOur auditor has expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.Our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 include a going concern note from our auditors.

For up to 12 months, and in some cases longer, life insurance companies can provide a firm commitment to borrowers that today’s interest rate will be the interest rate when they close, barring any substantial changes to the property and its economics.

I will explain my current situation below:I bought a house that needed a substantial amount of work at a discounted price ($93,500) with a plan to fix it up and live in it for five years. 

(Example: in my firm, we have two pairs of eyes on every substantial number before the return is released)