Yes a conventional loan is cheaper but when you factor in the opportunity cost of the deals you will lose then hard money doesnt look too bad. 

@Nick ColvillI don't have extensive experience on the commercial side but I do know that each lender will look at 2 main factors when evaluating a commercial mortgage loan - The LTV and the Debt Service Coverage Ratio.

If you domt mind me asking, what factors allowed you to pick the zip codes you did?

Them leaving in the winter leaves you SOL in the crap season for finding a tenant, so factor that in also.

In general just knowing what the prices in your area is the biggest  factor. 

So how do you factor that "refund" in when looking at a potential deal or looking back say at the past year to see how well the property you own performed? 

A big consideration is your risk factor.

I think the only thing this calculator does not factor in is capital expenditures. 

Many metropolitan in Midwest do not have measurable appreciation when factored into inflation.

I dont know about Atlanta or GA MSA but there are some banks here in WA these days that go upto 95 or even 100% (according to the flyers I have seen) with a full appraisal and other factors like assets, your financial stmt and other criteria but upto 90% LTV is pretty std I think in most cases for a HELOC on a primary residence and 80%LTV on a cashout on primary residence.If its a rental your only option would be cash out refi @75%LTV as HELOCs on an inv prop are virtually non existent anymore after 2008/2009 market crash but you never know.