I'm currently involved in some HoA litigation about improper reserve funds, and I can tell you that this area of law is very muddy and attracts stubborn people. 

They are targeting business travelers / professionals (it's their first time doing this, so who the ideal market is for them is up for debate - but the idea is to attract quiet people who can afford it).  

Businesses overcharge customers everyday, its just when you know the person that you are making money off of, somehow it feels less ethical. 

If one of our customers wanted to add those to an existing job, we could probably fabricate and install it for around $2k to $4k depending on hardware selection.

The part that was attractive to me about this loan is that you can still do an fha purchase down the road and secure another property with a loan downpayment.

I used a contractor that I personally knew for the project, but I think contractors like doing 203k rehabs as payment is more or less guaranteed so long as the work is completed correctly (no dealing with customers who don't pay).

With the market where it's at, with so many people overpaying and thus driving prices up and making deals assets less lucrative, this structure allows deals to still be attractive for upside investors while providing a nice safe (in some cases, not all deals are safe/good) investment for those who are looking for capital preservation over growth.

The more bids any property gets, the less likely financing will be attractive unless it is much higher.

However, most lenders will only allow HELOCs up to 70% LTV on investment properties (as opposed to 90-95% on primary residences), and the rates aren't as attractive, whereas you can get 30-yr fixed loans up to 80% LTV on investment properties.Curious why you are going for HELOCs as opposed to fixed mortgages? 

Home depot you can get just about every size imagineable, including custom sizes cut to size.