It's extremely difficult and more expensive to find a lender offering a HELOC on investment property.

Seems expensive.

This lower income housing.

The cash out refinance is going to offer a longer term (30 years) and usually a lower payment. 

My primary focus for this investment is on long-term appreciation potential and leveraging rental income to pay down the mortgage, in this case I have no cashflow.Given the current market conditions, I understand that cash flow might not be immediate, but I'm more interested in the potential for appreciation over time and the ability to offset expenses through rental income.

@Jay HinrichsYes and pretty expensive, $10,000 to $20,000 depending on market coverage.

:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+, zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680, some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

Having a stable job can help you handle unexpected expenses and save for buying new properties.Many new investors are often looking for deals with good cashflow, but these are usually in less safe areas because they come with higher risks then investors are expecting higher cashflow.I suggest focusing on the long-term growth in property value rather than immediate cashflow.

As a broad rule of thumb, the 50% Rule for SFRs states that about half of the rent will go to non-mortgage expenses.

They agreed, including them paying all closing costs, and we had set a price in the lower 400ks… I asked for more money, which they obliged to add about 10k to, but just today they said their partner pulled out.