There are still a few that will give you a loan but the traditional 90% of purchase price and 100% of rehab might not be possible without an exception.

Our issue is income on papers too low to qualify for the an FHA or traditional loan.

Dan, Investment HELOCS are extremely hard to achieve considering they are not DSCR underwrites. they are more traditional conventional qualifications.

(For context, it's a 2700 sf 4 bd 3 bath house in an upscale Northern California suburb.)Kitchen A: Traditional, features a 48 in fridge, 36 in cooktop, window sink (no view), pantry.Kitchen B: Designer, features a 60 in fridge, 48 in range, large kitchen window (no view), sink facing living/dining room; unfortunately no pantryKitchen C: A Little Bit of Both, features a 48 in fridge, 48 in range, sink facing living/dining room, pantry, unfortunately there's no window.Total countertop space is roughly the same (22 ft)  in all three layouts.

I’ve had many clients do a traditional 1031 and then they feel like they have a gun to their head with the shot clock.  

whats traditionally referred to as "DSCR" loans are not going to be eligible in non-state territories unfortunately

If this were my property, I’d run a detailed rental analysis (from what I’ve read in Forbes) to see if the short term route could outpace traditional leasing.

Reason why is because FDIC Bankers "Do Not" charge points on traditional programs like primary homes, standard investment purchase and refinance, Second home/vacation homes.Lenders, Brokers all charge points to meet their Loan officer compensation plan (commission).

What are the challenges of passive investing as opposed to traditional real estate investing? 

I talked to my lender contact and, as Kerry mentioned above, it's pretty uncommon that a traditional lender would offer a HELOC product on an investment property (non-primary home).