If he or she does not know why I said what I said in the two sentences ago, you have the wrong CPA.The reason for an LLC is generally liability protection, however this is not a cure all for liability by any means.

If this was something he actually had, he'd be wise to keep it to himself or people close to him, not blab it at a networking event.I'd steer clear of this guy and would avoid having my name attached to the same sentences as his...

(Crap, sorry, just finished reading your post and saw the sentence about the business you bought.)

He also ate the tenants...Gail I was going oh no when I read the first part of that sentence LOL.Yes cat litter is bad news. 

This last sentence hit home for me. 

So, the suggestion to refinance is to get the loan to a place where the ARV can be considered, and you could cash out the difference between what you paid and the ARV.Donald Shaver answers your "higher interest rate" point:- "the idea isn't to 'get out of a high interest loan'; it's to get your cash back out, regardless of the loan type used".Oh, and that same thought corrects your last sentence too, because you're not trying to "cash out the difference between what you paid and the ARV".

Be aware that you will need a new insurance policy when you rent it out, and that policy will be significantly more expensive than your current homeowners policy.Only thing I would be worried about is if it does get trashed it would costs more to get back to a rentable state or sale.The "if" in this sentence is the wrong word. 

When they are asked the question of is it a good investment I hear this sentence a lot: "real estate is the best investment you can make in your life".

@Todd Dexheimer  I agree, but your first sentence is confusing.

I literally can't remember what I was saying in that sentence!]