If I had to choose, I'd probably give the upper hand to Bushland.

My ultimate goal is to build generational wealth and be as hands on as possible in acquiring and managing my real estate endeavors.

These two incentives combined can add up to $7000+ in move in costs alone never mind first and last months rent.So....considering that most people who can afford $3,000+ dollar apartments usually have good steady jobs, and are not the types of people who let their dogs crap all over their place, eat the woodwork, or otherwise destroy their home, I’m wondering what benefit I really get from having a deposit on hand.

You have to make sure lender will not try to reduce proceeds to the loan amount instead of you having the credit for replacements.The reducing the loan amount might be saving you 20 bucks a month so means nothing versus the 50k credit from the seller.Most mom and pop tenants live hand to mouth and if you shock them with a big expense that raises overall cam above base rent by a few dollars a foot it can send them into a tailspin.

As an example, you'd maybe spend half your HELOC and cash on hand as down payment and then have the rest of your HELOC as money for rehab. 

@Ryan H. and @Ibrahim Hughes thank you for your replies.

Additionally, should I even bother submitting an offer on a property without proof of funds being submitted at the same time, or will the seller likely reject the offer without seeing the cash on hand up front?

The estoppel certificate is a form filled out with the tenant, confirmed by the Landlord, and then handed to you as the buyer.

As a broker/agent, until I have a signed offer in hand with proof of funds, there's nothing to discuss.

That said I would definitely try to find one of the handful of negative threads on here that I've seen in the past.