Unfortunately we are carrying a lot of debt from our last real estate purchase.

here is the situation. i left a really good paying job to take care of my 81 year old parents because my dad is chronically ill and my mom is almost there. i wont go into too much detail, but my sis doesnt help them. ill leave it at that. we have a person who comes twice a week to help with cleaning and other household tasks. i carry the bulk of the weight cooking their meals, running errands, grocery shopping, picking up meds, and taking them to dr appointments. its a full time job. i get a small salary of $1000 a month from a care giver sub contractor for the VA. ive been paying my bills with what savings ive had, but only have a few months of funds left. i own a duplex. i have over 200k in equity. i live in texas and texas has weird laws about refi and heloc/heloans when the property is 4 units or less and owner occupied. i would rather not sell, but if thats my only option i will have to at some point.does anyone have any advice or possibly be able to point me to lenders who might be able to work with my situation?

I have been considering joining AAGLA and know they have lease forms and other forms, but it is $199/yr.In the next couple months, I am looking to get a standard CA NAA lease written up with RUBS for water and sewer billing and a requirement for the tenants to carry their own renters insurance policies with $100K or so (if there are recommendations around this please let me know) liability limits.Does the community here have any advice on how best to do this and where I could get a lease form that does the trick?

its a lot of work and cash and carry.. no harm feeling it out and seeing if it will work for you.I have been buying courthouse steps since the late 70s.. it goes in spurts for us.

A minority are now carrying the tax burden, and the majority are existing via various forms and levels of assistance. 

You may also want to look at a cash out refinance to eliminate one or more Heloc or a few credit cards to lower your DTI and outgoing monthly debts.A heloc is a risk since its an open end mortgage like a credit card which carries a higher risk versus a 30 year mortgage. 

If they settled for such a large amount, the landlord must have carried some responsibility, and the insurance lawyers didn't feel they could win the case.

It's just a seller carry & the seller sells the note.

But I'm not sure what that has to do with carrying a large mortgage where you are just breaking even and speculating that property will continue to appreciate.  

Tim,My advice as a banker would be to do a cash out refinance and avoid carrying the Heloc.