Is it a family area that tenants would want a family room/play room?

Letting a Government run your business is not my cup of tea....Having said that, if you can tolerate the Govt being involved, you can make a lot of money...just play the game.

Looking for value add opportunities is a good play to build equity into the property so that you can refinance into a conventional loan once you hit the LTV requirements.

It is like gambling.

And many times there's a bonus at the end.I've found it's very easy for me to play mind games with myself - as long as they're under 6 years of age games !

I'll have to play with these numbers a bit more before they make sense to me I think.I appreciate your response!

That could play into the analysis of the timing of the if the bankruptcy filer files a string of bankruptcies under different chapters.

It's all a gamble but I like my odds in real-estate and not with the casino. 

Unfortunately,  some lenders don't play nicely. 

Key in this is to open the HELOC while it is still your primary residence.Now, as always, talk things over with your lender or prospective lenders and see how the situation will play out for you.