Basically, anything other then 25% down and bank financing could qualify.Using a HELOC for a down payment is a pretty common strategy.You need to look at what the extra costs of the HELOC will be and figure that into your calculations, probably off-line in a spread sheet.

You can learn a lot here.Great question.And you might not like my answers but I'd rather give you the truth you need vs. lies you want :-)Out of state investing specially BRRRR is tough.

(If so, they will probably charge you extra to bring installers out that far).

Ask what their intentions are with the proceeds/ see if I can offer a better solution with the extra capital. 

Perhaps in a value-add situation, but if you buy a place with 40% down, I would think that you should be able to access that "extra" equity from the get go.

These details were all relatively inexpensive things that we could build and/or paint ourselves without having to pay for extra labor.

Then invest all your extra money.There is a false belief on BiggerPockets that everyone should and will succeed in real estate.

So here is my question, is my landlord responsible for the extra cost of my electric bill or does that fall on me?

My business partner has a hypothesis that spending extra money to build an abundance of storage space into a rental unit will keep tenants "sticky".

Considering this is your personal property (at least for a while), it may be worth the extra cost to make your life a little better.