For a 20 unit building this would result in $150/unit/month that can be captured from utility companies for an annual cash flow of about $180,000 added to rentscurrently being charged, in addition to immediately added equity.This technology is also scalable and adaptable to automotive and trucking applications.

Thoughts / feedback on that structure and any ideas on how to leverage/structure that equity with the lender for the improvements would be appreciated.  

Have multiple exit strategies (convert to standard rental, don't over leverage on the purchase, etc.)2.

It appears like the heloc may be putting you in an over leveraged situation from a quick glance. 

They know they will be working with investors who are crunching numbers, and a low appraisal gives some leverage to the buyer if a clause like this isn't in place. 

With that said, it is important to use leverage responsibly no matter the resource and as such, the deal itself is of the greatest importance.

@Michael Dang Hello, I looked into private lending and while that is great, I’m leaning towards investing into real estate more since I can scale that quicker and be able to leverage.

The good news is that, if you find out before you purchase that the work wasn't up-to-code or wasn't recorded, you could opt to use this information as leverage to talk the seller down on price.The other thing I thought of when reading your post was that an appraiser may want to see the new rent values stabilized before factoring them into the appraisal. 

I live in New Zealand and own a small portfolio of residentialand commercial properties in Australasia and South America.Goal:I have USD$150K cash (I am not interested in pursuing bank finance/leverage).I would like to cash purchase a $130K residential property in USA.Find a trustworthy property manager for < 10%Refurbish the property for < $20K.Rent the property for an approximate 20 year period.Question:Which three counties in USA should I consider/compare/investigate ?

We both work full time so we use are W2 incomes and salary's to leverage our money.