So it's not like the drop from 1.5 to 0.5 meant a 2/3 pay cut and then they went in and juiced it up to 0.95% to get paid more.

The bit of research I've done so far hasn't been super fruitful though, have y'all had success with HMLs in Denver?

Wait till after he has been home from work for about 30 minutes, grab a 6 pack of a non fruit flavored beer, walk over to his house knock on the door,  hand him one of those non-fruit flavored  beers, tell him you saw the foreclosure listing just you like you told us, ask whats up, let him talk. 

No alcohol is left by us, but any sealed drinks (Juices, teas, lemonades and waters) are.

If it were a 6-8+ unit multi, maybe it makes sense, but the juice doesn’t seem worth the squeeze on this one.

Consult an employment law attorney familiar with your state and local law for the final say.The juice may not be worth the squeeze. 

It definitely got the creative juices flowing, however, and I believe that I can help my mother out tremendously and create a HELOC for myself in the process.

Nearly all the big "VA specialist" loan providers have those juiced up VA profit margins (relative to conventional), and the only reason I'm saying "nearly" all is because I've not surveyed 100% of all mortgage outfits in the United States.

I've had such good fruit from my local bank partnerships that I'm a sucker for them.

They all can bear fruit.