I knew I wanted a HELOC, so asked my local CU about it while I was waiting for settlement.

Inflation will cause rent to go up and if your debt against the property is based on fix rate, your odds will only get better.

I run sum numbers for you please see comments below before refinancing and post refinancing .If I were in your position, I would approach it as follows:Initial Investment Assumptions: Market Value: $360,000 Purchase Price: $360,000 Equity: $0,000Financial Breakdown: Hard Money Loan (LTV 100%): $360,000 Interest Rate: 10% (30-Year Amortization) Monthly Payment: $1,995Upfront Costs: Origination fee (1%): $3,600 Closing Costs (3%): $10,800 Renovation Costs: $10,000 2 Month of Carrying Costs During Renovation: $5,390Total Upfront Required: $29,790Total Capital InvestmentPurchased price $360,000 Upfront Costs $29,790Total: $389,790To make this investment work, you need to rent the whole property for at least $3,165/month, refinance it let say after one year with 5% interest with a traditional mortgage.Year One Rent: Monthly Rent Income: $3,165 Monthly Rent Losses during renovations (2 Months): -$6,330 (-$527/month distributed over 12 months) Total Rent Income: $31,650 per year => $ 2,638 per monthMonthly Expenses: Hard Money Loan Payment (10% Interest): $1,995 / per month interest only Property Tax (Assuming $3,000/year): $250 per month Property Insurance (Assumption): $100 per month Utilities (Hydro, Gas, Water): $292 per month Assuming 0% Vacancy first year Assuming 0 % Repairs & Maintenance first year because unit has been recently renovated Total Monthly Expenses: $2,637Monthly Net Cash Flow: $1Post-Renovation Refinancing Strategy:So far, we’ve purchased the property, completed renovations, and rented it out.Next, you can approach the bank for a refinance to consolidate your initial investment of $29,790 plus your 360k debt into a mortgage.

This aligns with your financial situation and helps mitigate risks associated with high debt-to-income ratios.

On your settlement statement, does the lender read Fixated Funding or is their another LLC's name?  

Any debt that can help in an emergency is a good idea.

Lease options are the vehicle of choice here, until I sort out how to get to the other side of the ceiling imposed by debt to income ratio.

When we did it, we did score some great deals, but what we found was that we were visiting so many properties to understand our "strike price" (the maximimum we would pay for the property when taking into account rehab costs, hold times, interest on any debt, closing costs, real estate commissions, a contingency reserve for "unexpecteds", etc) that the math started to not make as much sense.

With a DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loan, you can tap into your equity and still retain the cash flow since it's based on the property's rental income rather than personal income.

LOC's can have negative effects on your future purchasing power if not set up correctly and keeping in mind you can "never" use an LOC as a reserve or asset.It will always be a debt burden and can over inflate your back end debt ratios depending on the W2 income and your liabilities.