Are there any other outstanding debts between you and your wife?

Also, some helocs will offer Interest Only payments, some that go above 90% LTV may ask for 1% of the outstanding balance or 1.5% of the outstanding balance.

You also mentioned an unpaid water bill, so be sure to deduct any outstanding balance from that bill as well. 

While cash flow can be nice to see each month, it can be fleeting and inconsistent.

Quote from @Terra Padgett: While cash flow can be nice to see each month, it can be fleeting and inconsistent.

@Benjamin CarverThat was an OUTSTANDING post.

If it were an outstanding applicant and I was trying to get there business i may try to entice them, but generally I'm going to offer things like discounts on rent if they wanna sign for more than a year.  

Maybe seller holds a 2nd, maybe partner with someone, maybe get some F&F (friends and family) money, maybe offer a higher rate for the 2.5 years the 2nd is outstanding. 

Many people have a mortgage on a property where the land value is much greater than the home (aka near the water) and insurance is not able to pay off your entire outstanding mortgage.

From the Great Recession to Q1 2022 it was easy to find RE that seemed very likely to produce outstanding return.