Reason is a Heloc generally carries a higher rate on a shorter term and "Can Never" be used as an "Asset, or for PITI reserves" which are both required when you buy an investment property. 

The lower the score, the higher the risk and the more we charge for a deposit.

They do it across the board so all their units have to pay the higher deposit.

hard to compare both exactly but I would say we may be higher on the scale overall than many areas (and maybe moving on up further after this morning and this afternoon)

If anything, your emergency savings should be significantly higher and you might be over invested right now.  

The environment now with higher interest rates and higher purchase price does make it more difficult but definitely doable. 

But, the higher income you have right now, the faster you can work your plan. 

Are your prices a lot higher?

Rates are a bit higher but if you can leverage up to do more than 1 flip at a time, it will be worth paying the lender fees.

But e-commerce has been around for several decades now and continues to grow.”In the lengthy “Marco Santarelli” YouTube videos, he explains that small business lending through promissory notes generates higher returns for investors than treasury notes, hard money lending, and real estate trust deed notes ( Link, at 29:42).