I don’t have the financial IQ yet as Kiyosaki would say. 

Here’s the situation (personal details removed):The tenant reached out explaining that they’re going through financial difficulties due to an ongoing divorce and lack of child support.

if they are pressuring you like this.PLEASE watch the American Greed Episode on Remmington Financial  .not saying these guys wont or don't fund of course.. but when I do my deals with my banks its common that I pay for the phase one and the appraiser directly..  

You could, for the purposes of verifying that you are not renting to someone who is potentially dangerous or financially incapable of shouldering the burden of being a roommate, ask them to apply through Zillow so that you can see their background check, that also gives you the opportunity to have others who might be interested in being your roommate as well, apply.

It's such a broad question that it's hard to answer.My original intent was financial freedom for my family.

It's been great, but I'm not able to financially benefit from any of that money.

Circuit Court of Appeals late Thursday reinstated a nationwide injunction that had been issued earlier this month by a federal judge in Texas who had ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act was unconstitutional, Reuters reported on Friday, thus suspending the deadline once again for most reporting companies to file beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)."

The key is to ensure the HELOC doesn’t turn into a long-term financial burden if the partnership doesn’t pan out.

Sounds like you are in a pretty strong financial position.

IT DOES NOT WORK at improving your financial balance at all.