It will be triggered upon sale OR refinance, so if you think you might want to refinance in the next couple of years (or at least have the option), you may want to consider a shorter penalty length. 

For example, if you raised rent by $25 a month that is not likely to trigger them moving but it does help control the gap that could develop between your rent and market rates.Each year you skip widens the gap and makes it harder to close and more likely to trigger a move. $400 is tough to recover in one change without triggering a move.I have learned the hard way that I really should not skip rent increases every year, even if they are small.

@Ly MaCurious if you ever pulled the trigger.

I used to do lease options 20 years ago, and it seems like a great way to wrap around without trigger a sale or breaking any terms of common notes.I have a $1.3M property with a 1st of about $850k at 3.25%(or somewhere around there). 

Doing a cash out refi of your DSCR loan to pay back the funds from your HELOC would trigger that penalty. 

I have had many, many problems with contractors over the years that were 100 percent their fault, but I have also had a quick trigger on contractors, not realizing that none of them work they way I want them to, but it's whether or not they are working better than the person you would have to get to replace them half through the job.

It's an 1890's Queen Anne that was chopped up into an upper apartment with existing long-term tenant, and a hair salon downstairs that I converted into a 3/1 Airbnb.

I have been reading and watching about everything and under stand there is no “right way” to do it, but i just want to express my thoughts and questions and get some feedback before i pull the trigger on some of my steps.

One more tip – people remember stories that trigger their emotions.

I know starting off can be scary I studied the Ohio market for two years and connected with local investors and out of state investors in Ohio before I finally pulled the trigger.