I had to get a home equity line for about $20K, which put my first and second mortgage at $153,600.

I did approach them about a year ago about getting $25k credit line per property, and the response I got was basically no.

I have already been fully qualified for both the line of credit and DSCR.

The bottom line is this: Concealment is not asset protection, proper (time consuming and expensive, I know) management, and good, prudent, practices (ditto), WHICH ARE ADHERED TO, and insurance (expensive), are needed for asset protection.

For instance, cities like Chicago are known for landlord-tenant laws that skew heavily in favor of tenants, and that risk should be baked into your underwriting.What’s your take on balancing short-term cash flow with long-term equity growth?

Congrats on getting across the finish line! 

Many note funds take on debt from larger lenders or lines of credit against their assets.

Quote from @Bob Dole: All,Apologies for the newb question, but I just heard about cost segregation and have been reading up about it online.My understanding is this (and please correct me where I'm wrong):Pros: -accelerate depreciation, front load (vs. just a straight line over 39 years) -save money on taxes because of the depreciationCons: -if I sell the property, the recapture will be larger -not recommended if you flip propertiesSo hypothetical situation:-Majority of our income is W2 based, let's say it's $500k-Net income from commercial rental is $100k-Income from dividends and interests is $100k-Both of us are full time W2, so non-prof real estate (but this can change  -- please see below)So we're hypothetically grossing $700k a year. 

Trying to read between the lines it sounds like you have a regular owner occupied homeowners policy in place on a rental property. 

At this point, I would recommend having a line of credit to cover these things so you don't have money sitting in the bank doing nothing when it could be put to work.I have 33 units, no debt except for mortgages, and excellent income.