They should obtain a renters' policy that both will cover their personal belongings and give you some protection for unintentional damage they cause as a result of a cooking fire or the like.Hope that helps!

This creates a dilemma: Paying off my HELOC will cause me to pay an early termination fee of ~$1500 with my local bank.  

I think this is the biggest thing that caused me so much grief when I first started.

I would read this article by John McNellis for more information on why being a broker can cause you to miss some of the deals. http://news.theregistrysf.com/mcnellis-bromancing-the-deal/Cheers,Peter Maclennan

I unfortunately had a life changing event that cause me to leave the world of investing and I am just now getting back to it - 10+ years later.

ONLY on the first cause we're at the bottom of the market now.Now were back trying to refi again and was locked in at 3.75 which includes the 1st and 2nd mort.

Hiring an experienced GC will probably help your cause a great deal as will having plenty of cash to put down and to provide adequate liquidity post-close.  80% LTC is pretty typical right now with rates in the 5 - 7% range with 1 point origination.  

I always assumed that banks care about the foundation issues caused by flooding from outside as well as the likelihood of the property being flooded again.  

Obviously random luck can cause expenses to be higher or lower on any single property but over a portfolio over time history shows us that it will be close to 50%Most new investors wouldn't guess anywhere near that high and that will often get someone into trouble.

If I were you, I'd get them to provide me a copy of their credit report so that you can see EXACTLY what is causing those scores.