It is rare, if any, that lenders will go for that rate given the timeframe.

I truly think I only need 4 more houses to hit my goal and then shift from buying to paying them off.I am not sure if I am thinking about this the right way and I am sure there are things I am not thinking about but below are my thoughts:Pros - I can purchase the houses I need to hit my goal faster - With getting homes fasters the depreciation, tax benefits, amortization, appreciation, rent increases all start sooner - Home prices on average should be lower now then if I buy in 4-5 years - I can take better advantage of leverageCons - I have more risk until I pay the properties off - Less upfront cashflow - Longer timeframe to acquire the properties to reach my goalIf anyone has any opinions or advice I'd love to hear it.One thing to consider is the more of one’s own money you use, the more you can be lax and lazy with the deal and your standards.

However, you could look into a “construction exchange” where the funds are used to improve a new property acquired through the exchange, but it must meet specific IRS rules within the time frame. 

What’s the timeline for using the HELOC funds, and do you have a plan to pay it off within that timeframe?

.: I'm taking a break from buying and my previous approach of analyzing deals in inexpensive markets, looking at hundreds of properties on Zillow and running the numbers, which I spent hours each on each day and became really burned out.

I understand why this is the choice asset for many: they are inexpensive with no barrier & easily financed (easily attainable). 

Is there any way to basically “lock in” the target building, or is there always going to be a risk that you won’t be able to find the right building within the 1031 timeframe?

Market might be competitive but there is angles to stand out depending on what you are comfortable and able to handle, such as waiving an appraisal contingency, limitng inspection rights and time frames, closing time frames, allowing seller to stay-post closing, taking on difficult tenants, buying properties that might need repairs, etc.

Houfy is very inexpensive to list on, and syncs with the other platforms, making it a very quick and cheap way to do direct bookings.

It was rather inexpensive, and we never had any issues with the tenants.