Handyman touched up paint where they hung a TV and replaced a leaky disposal.

Account Closed I had to read your post twice, Tom Vu, I'm not necessarily old enough to remember the TV commercials but I was somehow directed to old commercials via Youtube by a good friend of mine who knows I'm in real estate.  

they were running the lights, a tv, and a space heater (1500 watts marked on it!)

Check out the recent podcast > BP Podcast 149: Early Retirement, Real Estate Bubbles, and Dangerous Scams with Radio/TV Star Clark HowardI would rather invest my 30k as down payment on a 2016 Tesla Model X, park my Tesla on a sandy beach by Ocean Shores, WA, open up the falcon wings and enjoy the rain drops and listening to the BP podcasts.

Real Estate on TV looks easy but u are in the trenches doing it.

If you don't get the money when they have it, you won't get it because they'll change their mind and spend it on something stupid like a new cell phone, or big screen TV.

Many of our guests are from Canada, so we get dinged extra for the foreign transactions.HOA = $477/ month = $1988/yr (Cable TV and Internet included)Utilities = $5,724 (Electric, Water and Sewer)Supplies = $580 (New Towels, new beach chairs, extra bedding, other small items)Taxes = $2,060 (Maui actually has lower property taxes than you would think)Insurance = $301/ yr (HOA covers insurance, we added liability and umbrella)Hope these numbers give you an idea of what to expect.

Now, after that, you have a need for some cash for whatever the reason - new roof, new heating system, vacation, new car, new TV - makes little difference why.So, in this environment of tightened lending, you're now going to have to BEG for a loan from some bank, and hope that they might consider giving you one.

There were boxes, old tv's (the heavy ones), mattresses a fridge full of food and trash.

I'm not accountant, and I don't pretend to be one on tv.. so hopefully others will chime in shortly, but I don't think you'd pay taxes on a draw from a HELOC used to pay a debt.