If you get to court, you will pretty need to declare everything anyway. 

Here is a NJ site with links to applicable revised code:https://nj.gov/dca/divisions/c...In Ohio the tenant would have to make the repair request in writing and you would have 30 days to rectify the problem and if not rectified after 30 days the tenant could escrow rent with the court.

Once we've fluffed the house a bit, we will refi, pay off the HELOC, and go around again.All of the delayed financing options I've found specifically state that any cash from a third-party must be a gift, and you absolutely cannot use the proceeds to pay off a private loan for the original purchase. 

. - Plan 2 allows us to stay in the house while construction proceeds, Plan 1 we will have to move out for up to a year.- Plan 2 is $160,000 cheaper. - Plan 1 overall looks like a better planWhat plan would you prefer assuming we end up staying in the house for the long term and only think about selling much later on.I appreciate all your inputs!

Holds up in court better too.

If the government provided some insurance coverage for damage exceeding the enhanced security deposit (would have to be documented of course) and exception from eviction courts for a speedy eviction, then I am sure many would sign on.

Now I am faced with a decision, do I sacrifice cash flow and increase my risk exposure to take out the most tax-free refi proceeds or do I balance cash flow with refi proceeds to manage the risk?

The entire purpose of court is to resolve disputes.

Will the evictions process clog the court's system?

This story is HUGE but I'll try to keep it brief.June 2019 a woman signs a 12 month contract that says she must get electric and gas in her own name prior to move it and no one except her can occupy the unit (she breaks all 3 of those)Unknown to me - the man now squatting moves in with the former tenantJuly 20, 2020 she suddenly has a huge amount of cash and pays over 5 months back rent - never pays rent again after this dayJuly 23, 2020 booked for a crimeFeb 2020 person moves into cabin next door and somehow put wrong cabin electric meter in their nameNov, 2020 she's jailedMay 2021 my dad arrives and slowly starts realizing the scope of the problemJuly 2, 2021 I arriveJuly we get Real Estate One to be property managers starting Aug 1, REO agent meets with 2 current tenants and gets them on new contracts, REO makes a deal with squatter, he agrees, he never shows up to the REO officeAug 9 post 7 day notice due to non paymentAug 16 court house says can't because COVID, try 30 day notice to quit - post thatAug 17 hand 30 day notice to quit to squatter (had to bang on his door at 7:15a to catch him as he'd been hiding from me for 2 weeks)Aug 19 figure out squatter's cable is in the name of jailed tenant's daughter who lives 2 counties away with her legal guardian (yet Spectrum refuses to cancel service)Aug 20 figure out the electric meter mix up. next door unit moved out in June yet was still be charged electric. why?