At this point, I would avoid burning tons of capital on expensive and low return multis.

This will allow you to keep you rates, and payments but access some capital without having to change the deed.Since you don't have a deal yet  I would look at the HELOC that way you aren't burning a whole in your pocket with funds, and also aren't paying interest until you draw on it.Best of luck!

This was on the MLS as a burned down home How did you finance this deal?

It would be very easy to buy in the wrong neighborhood and get burned.

It seemed that every 2-3 blocks a house or houses were either burned out or boarded up.

It’s a standard part of the landlord policies I get with two different carriers.I suspect you are referring to loss of use coverage, so if the place burns down the insurance carrier will pay you the rent that you would have received while it is being rebuilt.Rent guarantee insurance will cover the rent if the tenant stops paying while living there or being evicted. 

Look through the reports and see what they are identifying as problematic, so you know going forward.Unless you have money to burn on lost EM and inspections, you need to include an inspection period, especially since you aren’t experienced enough to identify those bigger issues yourself.

Hope not many people got burned

Remember if you are giving say an 8% pref you are burning 8% interest per month to your investors so you better get that money invested quickly. - What's a good framework for organizing investment criteria on a deal-by-deal basis so we can pass around potential investments as they pop up and let individuals decide their involvement level?

Quote from @Carol Burns: I was listening to a BP webinar and the host was talking about doing a sneaky rental deal, where you buy the house as a primary residence, live in it, and then move out and rent it out.