Different lenders can view income in various ways depending on who you speak with.

Quote from @Daniel Huang: Hi, I am trying to transition to develop my rental income as I am in the final years of my professional career.  

You must work at least 750 hours per year in a qualified RE business.So most people who have high-earning W-2 jobs outside of real estate won't qualify.But the unique thing about RE pro status is that even if you don’t qualify but your spouse does, you can both file jointly and claim the losses from your RE investments to offset your other active income together.It's an incredibly powerful benefit if you do meet the criteria.

The two-family property now has better curb appeal and the rental units are much more desirable, which has helped me increase my rental income.

What income streams do you have besides REI, or is this it?

And I would love some passive income or at least someone to pay my mortgage until we can pay it off maybe.

That one month of lost income will take seven months of cash flow to recover.

Where I live there are many benefits to the voucher program in addition to guaranteed payments. 

I would prefer to sell the property vacant or the easiest less stressful way as possible, however I was advised that could deter investors buyers interest as the rental income is a one of my strong selling points.I am open and would appreciate any thoughts and/or suggestions from fellow agents or investors alike.Thanks

Freddie has a reno loan product that can be used for investment properties; this is only for first position, though.For the Heloc - it goes back to whether your mom wants to continue carrying the loan for income, and if so, how will you pay off the heloc once the rehab is complete?