HELOCs, when strategized properly, simply give the consumer the flexibility to decrease the amount of interest and time on a loan.

Lenders who originate these loans are generally required to keep them opened for a period of time ranging from 6 months to a year depending on who the investor is on the secondary side of the market (this isn't general consumer knowledge but lenders know this).

It can be a very consuming endeavor and if one of you is not going in whole heartedly it is a relationship disaster waiting to happen.The bottom line is that if you have a good rehab team, then there is enormous profit in repositioning a property.

It's moreso for consumers than investors anyway. 

Moving tenants out will be costly and time consuming.

Shopping around for specialist is going to be difficult, and time consuming (holding cost is going to be higher as well, fyi).

The tsunami of cheap money is simply a way of consuming future productivity here and now and we will have to pay.

Our culture encourages debt, even on consumer items, which it didn't used to.  

I already knew the Law in Georgia that the security deposit can be withheld to cover rent before posting this thread (I keep a copy of the Georgia Landlord Tenant handbook handy).

And most consumers who purchase insurance an umbrella policies do not even now they can negotiate the terms, so do not have their lawyers negotiate the scope of coverage and the fine print etc.