Meriwest Credit Union currently has a 1.99% promotional interest rate on their HELOC.

People are more concerned with selling before closing now, so offering a temporary option that the builder can promote gives them peace of mind that the buyer can close.

Maybe I just need to pull more cash out to entice the lenders?  

I can understand it if it was a sales brochure, or if was a promotional material, that was indirectly a sales piece.

Rental rates historically go up over time or remain flat so it may take a couple years for the rents to catch up to the higher debt costs, should they remain elevated, to entice the buyer pool currently remaining on the sidelines to jump back into the game. 

The PPM is set up to protect the promoter and not the investors.

This is way more than we need to live because this is about $20,000 or more more than we lived off of last year because of promotions and pay raises at work.My options: Buy a house (multi-family hopefully) before this goes down and force her to live with me because I would have this house?

First, they tend to have very high fees, promotes, etc. compared to syndications and accredited investor REITs.  

Howey Test:An investment of money has been made,In a common enterprise andThe investor has the expectation of profits, which profits are expected to arise solely, or substantially, from the efforts of the promoter or third partyIf those answers are "True" you have a security.

In California if the complex is less than nine years old law firms will entice the Board into a class action lawsuit which benefits only the law firm.$300000 condo in California is ONLY inland not likely in "Good areas" as you phrase.