So far it has helped me and I have done this on two deals in different states with different banks.

You can cover the wire mesh with drywall patches (they tape on wall and across the wire, white/paintable, different sizes) as the wire mesh is what will prevent the rats from eating their way into the property (the covering material is cosmetic only).

The main person I talk with just changed shoot me a DM if you want! 

We want to buy an arcade machine for our STR that plays a bunch of different games.

Kind of a pain and also both less transparent and less efficient than before, but not drastically different. 

This was a DIFFERENT bank from the one my mortgage is in, I'm hopeful that works, but I'm not sure. 

I'm an investor and a licensed mortgage broker who has done fix and flips both using my home's equity and borrowing against the investment property.If you (1) have enough equity in your home to fully fund the deals, (2) don't mind tying that equity up for these deals vs saving it for a rainy day and (3) are ok linking the place you sleep with the success of the flips, this could make sense.We offer a ton of different fix and flip programs including putting 10% down on the purchase price and funding 100% of the rehab.

Main goal of All In One heloc or 1st Lien Position Heloc:  Lower your daily average balance.Main Drawback: Rates are substantially higher than 60% of current 1st mortgage balances.If you are mostly living paycheck to paycheck and your money leaves your account as soon as it comes in to pay bills, this is not for you. 

In fact, they are all vastly different.

A 1031 exchange would allow you to move into better properties in different locations while indefinitely deferring all tax on gain and depreciation recapture.