I have a lender offering 75-80k ltv.

Even if rates rise slightly, securing a historically low rate now offers financial stability and savings compared to past decades.

They drew me in with their offer of being able to pull out as much as 95% of my primary property's value in a HELOC.

Hey Andrew, conventional loans offer lower interest rates but they require 20% down payment.

The seller only knows what you/your agent told and/or given them ie the pre-approval included in the offer.

They might be able to offer a business line of credit, as an example.

I've built a small network in Philadelphia, and even made an offer on an apartment building there!

I'm finding some great sellers in Orange County who like that option to help with their capital gains liability...you just need an agent who knows how to present that type of offer.  

It was a super cool single-family property, yet for some reason, the listing hadn't received any offers on offer day.

It works incredibly well for real estate because it offers flexibility, liquidity, and allows you to make your dollars (cash value) more efficient by allowing them to work in two places at once (in the policy itself in participating policies by earning contractually guaranteed interest and dividends as well as in the investment you leverage your cash value for).