The state has also passed a bunch of rules and costs have gone up because the limited license to practice law has been more clearly defined and you have to have an attorney draft every document for your business that is not a standard form.

'Generally' the practical difference between the two types of lenders are:HML: Typically have more narrowly defined loan terms (this can come in the forms of the percent, points, length of loan, etc.), whereasPrivate Lenders: Generally have more flexible loan terms since you are arranging your financing with someone who is not in the business.Like many things in life, they both have their advantages and disadvantages and one is not necessarily better than the other.

Cash out refi and heloc are not seeming options at this juncture since I just officially started my RE investing business, am self employed (debt/income ratio) and I'm working on improving my FICO scores. 

I put out marketing packages based on actual numbers because all experienced investors will do their own underwriting and make offers based on real numbers but this is hardly the norm.It would behoove you to look at IREM.org as they have financial information from local property managers in every major market and they'll give you the real numbers when it comes to the cost of repairs, water & sewer, heat, electrical, payroll and other information.Once you have this, you should start practicing underwriting deals with your own spreadsheet or one like RealData so you can learn what a deal will actually make versus what BS brokers put out to market.

I tend to acquire multifamily property in markets with a compelling growth story (of course the future is uncertain but it pays to begin in the right direction), improve the property to bump the income in the front side of the investment, then monitor for the optimal exit point.  

Scenario - Purchase a building for $70,000Initial improvements $25,000New value $145,000Refinance at 75% of $145,000 = $108,750 mortgageThe problem that I am running into is that I am showing an long term asset value of $70,000 + $25,000 = $95,000 but an offsetting long term liability value of $108,750.  

I'm not sure what capital improvements you can make for $8,400 a year.

Roy N. had very practical advice and I agree completely.

Unfortunately, I am not licensed to practice law in your state.

It is good business practice to manage your liability so it may not infect your outside assets, such as your personal residence.