The way the math works out, paying off a primary residence (and car loans, etc) will help your DTI more than paying off a rental.

Wanted to check with the community which banks are fairly friendly to investors looking for a HELOC on their primary.   

I made it out of this one in 2016 when the market started to recover, but learned valuable lessons.Deal #3 (2011) 1st SFH, primary residence.  

I have found similar challenges in Utah with the housing market being very expensive so that many of the traditional rules of thumb don't work really well. 

I’ve retained the property as my primary residence for two years to avoid the capItal gains tax and am getting ready to list.

I bought a place using traditional bank financing and then assigned it over with no issue, but the possibility is there.Commercial loans will generally not have as nice an interest rate, and be for a shorter period than loans in your own name.

They just started their own business and can’t get a traditional loan.

Up until recently, Pittsburgh has traditionally been an "older" population so that factor may have contributed to the statistical decline.

I just wanted to get some feedback on what the community thought about this story, how I should feel about the primary lessee not being a resident, if i should be weary of the offer of 6 months up front etc.

You should be prepared for the rate/terms to be a little on the high end, FHA 203k loans have higher rates than tradItIonal FHA loans to begin with then through in a low 600 FICO and that will have an effect.