Your primary insurance policy with $300,000 in liability coverage should be sufficient in 99.999% of all lawsuits.5.

Its not much of a difference and I would recommend going with 5% down conventional as there's less restrictions when you decide to leave the property and no upfront mortgage insurance. 

Now the scenario is a little different- I welcome any suggestions and advice. 

If his real estate business is brokerage for home owners buying and selling their primary residences, then he probably does not have the knowledge to help someone invest in real estate.

I can prove that I had about 100 emails back and forth with different lenders and I also have a denial letter.

So the tax consequences may be different than what’s perceived.  

But a CRT simply to lower your tax bill will still end up with the bulk of the benefit going to the charity not you.These trusts are basically large properties in all different sectors that are owned in a trust structure originating in ...wait for it...Delaware. 

There are some great turnkey operators in many different markets, but unfortunately there are also some shady operators.

I own my primary residence outright and want to either HELOC or cash out refi.

The N/E (NJ,NY CT & Mass) have stringent building codes compared to other areas of the country, that might have something to do with the differences of our opinions.