And to pile on, if you didn't own this property, then you would be paying $700 or more in rent each month to live somewhere else.It's nice when you can find a hack that allows you to live rent-free, but that doesn't happen often.

It is easiest to see this principle in bonds.The 10 year bond has a higher yield than the 3 year, which has a higher yield than the 1 year, which has a higher yield than the 3 month.

If you know that a 2BR single family rental averages $1000/month in your market and someone tells you they have a good deal for you on one for $175k how much time are you going to spend analyzing it?

Fannie/Freddie now have a rule that if you are doing a cash out refinance, the loan being paid off has to be at least 12 months old. 

A furnished LTR model sounds more appropriate for students as there shouldn't be much movement outside of summer months.

They may also have rules that say you can't use the property as a rental during the first 12 months of ownership or at all.

Does anyone know if there is any flexibility here, including if I can keep the HELOC if I have had it for 12 months (so stayed in the Primary Residence for a year after the HELOC started)?

I just had a vacancy come up in the middle of a fourplex escrow and the seller had the unit re-rented in under a week for $50/more per month. 6) Yes it's hot, but with individual metering the landlord doesn't foot the electric bill 7) Yes the market is competitive here, but mostly for 3/4 unit properties.

With TOU service you charge it at night for 5-7c/kw and use it during the day to arbitrage the price difference. 

They are free for 1 unit and then costs $9.95 per month for up to 10 units.