If the tenant is truly struggling due to a life event, the sooner we can work together to get her somewhere she can afford (and not have an eviction or negative credit report on record), the better for all.

And considering I think a person who puts in plain black and white that integrity and character of the operator are key -- and then does something underhanded and incompetent is just mind-boggling to consider -- so I'm only left with a negative feeling about the documents these darned attorneys dream up! 

That's where the real negative effect on the market will be.

Last year, on my 9 properties I had negative cash flow after accounting for mortgage payments, etc.

If the property breaks even, or operates in the red currently, it will only operate deeper in the negative (unless you find a strong ROI like creating more bedrooms, convert a non living space to living space, etc) with another loan. 

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

A lot of people negatively arbitrage their 30-year mortgage, after taxes, if they keep money in a high yield savings account instead of prepaying their mortgage, because the savings account pays 4.25%, and their mortgage rate is 3.75%.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

- Most real estate investing projects have negative cashflow for the first few months - if not the first few years.Keep listening to the podcasts, but pay attention to WHEN THEY WERE RECORDED!

If you do use a heloc,  you are directly negating any benefit.