At that time the lender gave you a fixed loan for a certain period of time with so much down and a certain amortization schedule.The debt service coverage ratio example.At DSCR of 1.25 means for every dollar of mortgage payment the NOI can cover 125%Your current lender back in the day might have done say for example a 1.10 DSCR ratio because absolute NNN and investment grade so perceived risk to them was low.

Any debt that can help in an emergency is a good idea.

I always pay off my highest interest rate items first, especially if its debt.

About time! This will create some more movement, has been holding up quite a bit of growth. Good to see the city make some practical decisions. 

This aligns with your financial situation and helps mitigate risks associated with high debt-to-income ratios.

It seems to me that there multiple deflationary trends in the world right now but I don’t see a politically acceptable exit of all the accumulated debt in Europe and Portugal without using inflation.

Maybe get your debt paid down, get your first deal, get some savings built up, then reconsider the potential change. 

Quote from @Dee R White: I'm out of debt, don't really plan on using my card much except for emergencies but the recovering spendthrift and the riskier investor sides of me - are curious if I should call the company back and ask for them to raise it back as it might affect my credit score. 

Lease options are the vehicle of choice here, until I sort out how to get to the other side of the ceiling imposed by debt to income ratio.

Also if it is intended to possibly be a rental you should calculate the end result of the acquisition, the debt service, the rehab, etc and pretend to get a loan to refinance. then look at the potential rent to offset that monthly cost and see if it would cash flow.