The Austin market is still going strong and we live in a very desirable area.We *could* roll up some debt and take our mortgage to 284k.This would increase our mortgage payment by 566/month, but by reducing the monthly minimum payments with the debt disappearing we would gain an additional 1000-1100/month (after the 566 is deducted).I'm also aware that mortgage interest is something we can deduct from our annual taxes vs. other debt which we can't...This is not our forever home, but we've had so much equity in our home for so long that I can tell I'm fearful to cut into our equity, but I don't want baseless emotion to make this decision and keep us tied to something that we're not looking to stay in forever.

The environmental controls are very tight and underground storage tank (UST) operators are held to strict standards for regular inspections and monitoring. 

- Have you reached out to property management companies to find out what is standard for the area?

Background: I`m trying to access some of the equity sitting in my rentals to re-invest, but my W2 income is fairly low compared to the rental and self-employment income, due to higher deductions the total taxable income and qualifying rental income is way less than my actual income.

Is this the standard?

Have you looked at the gift tax implications to such a structure, or the deductibility of interest payments?

In Florida, 5 day grace period is standard.

75K is a high minimum for lenders and not standard. 

In certain areas you can get an owner financed home for less than rent and allow the borrower to take tax deduction and build equity.

LLCs have higher lending standards/interest rates and I think it's better to rent the house through your LLC instead of financing through it.