If you're in the real estate investment business and must watch every penny, irrespective of your time, then by all means, do what you think will keep your expenses to a minimum.If, on the other hand, you are really in the business of creating profit by way of being a good marketer and a committed dealmaker, your creative energies ought to be reserved for doing what you do best (or intend to do best)...

Do you have reserves in case the furnace dies?

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23If a purchase, you also generally need reserves / savings to show you have 3-6 month payments of PITIA (principal / interest (mortgage payment), property taxes and insurance and HOA (if applicable).

My question is if I made the HELOC go away from my cash reserves, could we then agree to seller finance the remainder and then use the cashflow from the STR to pay her plus give her a percentage to manage the property? 

They were having a new washer & dryers being delivered, upon the delivery the installer was unable to install due to the flooring.Please see attached.The funds in your reserve acct is $1000.

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23If a purchase, you also generally need reserves / savings to show you have 3-6 month payments of PITIA (principal / interest (mortgage payment), property taxes and insurance and HOA (if applicable).

If you can get a 30-year loan on it and still make positive income, as well as appreciation along the way, it will leave you with more for reserves and more for other investments.

Integrity and care for one's long-term reputation is enough for many, and there are plenty of syndicators who were reserved, used good judgment, and paused in the last few years.

Some advice on HELOCs:Only use 50 percent of the total amount you have available and earmark 15k of that for reserves.

From there likely a short spike due to the market being more reserved as the policy starts to take hold and lenders opting to raise rates a bit to be on the safe side while the policy settles itself in the new economic environment.