Not sure about the context here... a W-2 and 6 rentals might seem steep... but were there a bunch of hair on your rentals?

You can split hairs all you want whether its a "business," but what you are doing doesn't raise itself to being an active income source. 

I use excel for a lot of things, but to image having to look at a list of 200 and try to manually sift through it to find the correct criteria for a property would have me pulling out the little hair I have left.

I'd only heard about home hair dye that women use in the shower.Is that hair dye or shoe polish?

I think it is easily overcome by a good attitude and hard work.when I started in 74 in the game  tatoos were only on sailors.. the talk was should you have any facial hair. and studies said facial hair would be a turn off to some folks. 

•mother and mother-in-law•father and father-in-law•brothers•sisters•former and current brothers-in-law•former and current sisters-in-law•past and present CPA•past and present attorney•past and present real estate agent•landlord•hair dresser•manicurist•massage therapist•workout trainer•tailor•pool service rep•gardener•doctor•all members of a charity organization you might belong to•church members you know•anyone you have donated money to—ever•co-workers•former co-workers•former employers•current employer•current customers of your current job (be sure to first get approval from your supervisor)•former customers•drinking/social buddies•college friends•high school friendsYou can see that the list can go on and on.

You just have never had a conversation with someone who is motivated.This is what they act like:"Oh my gosh, is my hair on fire?

@Shane Woods If wanting to do EDDM I would suggest going in with other business owners to help cover the cost as the cost per preferred prospect is much higher to you when using EDDM.Pick a hair, nail, pizza, and  restaurant to share the cost with and have them split the cost equally thus making your ad space free besides the time investment. 

I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to get a signature slug without havingto hand craft - and without the doofy white box.Before (above) After (below)1.

On the second point, it may be possible to have a marginally cheaper interest rate on the HELOC depending on when the primary mortgage was taken out, but we are splitting hairs here because if there's that big of a spread you'd be better served just refinancing out of the expensive money.