If you don't mind, post a link to your place.  

My area is relatively low crime, but had one place that someone broke a window to get in.... probably a homeless guy looking for a place to sleep....got scared when neighbor turned light on.I put in a SimpliSafe unit... portable, easy to set up, multiple options- you can use a webcam and get alerts on your phone and future tenant can pay for full service if they want. 

This creates two loan payments ($100,000 of equity and $300,000 on the new mortgage).Key NumbersHome Equity Loan Interest Rate: 6%Mortgage Interest Rate: 7%Rental Income: $3,000 per monthExpenses (management, taxes, insurance, maintenance): $800 per monthIncome and ExpensesMonthly Rental Income: $3,000Monthly Expenses: $800Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,000ExplanationThe investor earns $3,000 in rent each month.They pay $2,000 on the investment property mortgage and $800 on other expenses.This leaves $200 profit each month or $2,400 per year.However, you have to pay $6,000 interest on the equity borrowed.This leaves you with an annual loss of $3,600.While the rental property generates positive monthly income, the interest cost of borrowing the initial $100,000 results in an overall loss.

The plan was to pay cash, refi out and use that to improve the property. 

The equity is actually what you are paying for the property.In this case let's look at the numbers that count,...the current numbers.You have about $500k or more in equity, which is buying you a property that's worth about $700k (I went with the lower PV. 

Keep in mind all this stuff is uber regulated, very detailed, far from simple.

The most important rule is to have the cash flow of the new property be able to pay all its expenses, mortgage, AND the line of credit back.

After fully renovating both units, I refinanced to pay off the loan and held it as a long-term rental.

That said, even with conservative rental income estimates, my living expenses would eventually drop to several hundred dollars less than what I’m currently paying in rent once the house hack starts generating income.I do have cash reserves to weather some rough patches, but the idea of pushing my budget this hard makes me uneasy.

She does not own the lot and pays like $150 per month lot rent.