All the other banks I spoke to, like TD Bank, HSBC, and Signature FCU, have limitations, such as you can't have more than 4 mortgages in your name, or they can only use 3 properties to offset DTI.Better.com offers a rate of 9.5-11% (depending on loan amount, credit score, etc.), and it also requires the property to be in my name (not in an LLC).Does anyone know of a bank that will do HELOC on rentals in NC that do not require the property to be in the owner's name and/or is not limited by how many mortgages you already have on other rentals?

Assuming utility costs and insurance and taxes to be around $300/month, if you add that to the mortgage, you're spending $1300/month every month you have no tenant(s) in place. 

It costs me insurance and about $600 in taxes each year.

Make a reasonable offer on the spot.

Many portfolio lenders offer 30 year terms for multiple family.  

From a liability standpoint it's a pretty clear case of an alter ego entity structure which any good attorney will be able to fight through and will add a redundant layer of insurance you have to pay for.

So I started trying to get creative on how to create a win-win-win for all.Here’s how it went down:I got the sellers to agree to an asking price of $180k, a full $40k over what they originally wanted.In the offer, we included a seller credit of $34k.This strategy allowed me to cover the extra commission for both the buying and selling agents and ensure the seller got exactly the cash they wanted should they have sold it at 140k.With the seller credit, this reduced my total out-of-pocket expense to just $6k.I used a commercial DSCR loan product with a local bank.

I know a lot of people say there are insurance issues and the tenant can sue for things if it's not permitted but if I was the one occupying it and renting out the main house would that be better? 

So, taxes, insurance utilities, etc that you need to pay for several months while doing the rehab.

Someone reached out on Zillow offering to lease it for a few years, guaranteeing rent payments.