I have a few lenders that will loan down to $40K -- one of them in Cross Country Mortgage -- they are nationwide.

If you are worried about qualifying for the next purchase you should know that the untapped amount of the HELOC counts against your debt to income anyway.

You need three comparable sales which is: past three months closed, square footage within 100 feet, room count the same, in tract.

@Melissa EspinozaDepending on your current situation with your student loans, the impact on your DTI can vary.It could be counted as the full monthly payment as reported on your credit report.It could be counted as zero monthly payment, if reported as zero on your credit reportIt could be counted as a monthly payment of 0.5% of the balance of your student loansIt could be counted as a monthly payment of 1.0% of the balance of your student loansA $13k balance is going to have negligible impact on your DTI if your income is high and other debts are low anyway.If it gives you peace of mind, then pay it off and be done with it.Cheers!

It intrigued me because it was a great way to grow my unit count without having to do a $2M raise or something similar.

In other words would it count as income?

I have some prior real estate experience through my own purchases and currently hold other properties not counting my primary residence.

Doing it in phases never crossed my mind, but that could make more sense.

So I wouldn’t be able to count the gross rent from the basement … :/ 

If you are already suing for damages, which you should, tacking on loss of income should be an easy bridge to cross (check with your attorney).