Period.If he keeps playing games, I would a) walk away from the deal, and b) report him to the State RE Board.chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySect...

So if I am looking at an asset as a 10 year play - I look more at the location, schools and how has this market performed in the past excluding covid and 2008 which were extenuating circumstances.Reality is right now shorter term plays do not work based on numbers and cost of financing - we went through this same thing in 2001-2004ish timeframe where properties would appreciate 2-3% per year and after buying costs and closing costs - you were not making money on assets unless you performed the labor or found a really good deal.this is how real estate "typically" is - which is why everyone always says location location location - because after a decent holding period, you will win.

HELOCs are much tricker than a closed end second - they don't typically allow you to close in an LLC and they are full doc qualification, meaning your FICO, employment history, income, DTI etc all come into play.

Since COVID, the demand for cash actually increased, so this is a recession resistant play.

And the reason why your "tale of two halves" will play out as you described.Demand:  This has actually been high almost all along, but rent growth hasn't materialized in response due to high levels of new supply. 

This plays into the affordability issues for tenants by allowing them to live in nicer neighborhoods for less money, yet I get monthly revenue comparable to short-term rentals.

I also have rentals in Detroit that I get far higher rents with cash paying tenants than I would a section 8 tenant.There are a lot of factors at play and the answer to "why would the government allow our tax dollars to be spent this way?"

Role-playing.     . you paid $300k 10 years ago, it’s worth $660k, (so when you sell you net $600k to make math easy.)and your cpa determined that you owned zero land, so it’s all depreciatable. you owe 15% on the $300k gain plus 25% tax on $109k depreciation recapture, so you owe $70k in federal taxes, then California reaches out for another $30k?  

In a way it sounds easier to me than investing in my business, because I've struggled scaling my business with paid ads (which is the main investment I could make on it) and because with real estate as long as I don't try to play smart (by buying a foreclosure or a fixer or something inherently risky) and if I keep it long enough, then chances are that it would make money in the long run.. don't you think?

That is the difference.The convertible equity play is just garbage.