What I think you will mostly find is that the $200-$400 you want to rely on in the profit column to justify buying a property is sitting over in the interest column of your spreadsheet costing you money instead. 

As such, spending the extra time for a cold call/visit feels more justified to me. 

Thanks for your reply @Andrew Postell How would I be able to justify on my income tax the source of the loan?

It will keep discipline as you will need to make sure your cap rate you are buying at is higher then your HELOC to justify the investment. 

Fees should be clearly stated in writing, easy to understand, and justifiable.

I considered just refinancing because the savings justified it, BUT the lender allowed me to do a loan modification for a $250 processing fee and change my rate sooner to take advantage of the rate change.

Fees should be clearly stated in writing, easy to understand, and justifiable.

You would need to be doing heavy construction on a consistent basis to justify it, in my mind.I believe the average landlord would make out best with an enclosed trailer and a tow hitch.

Do I just need to get over the "money grab" feeling and accept that I'm buying at what it should sell for, OR, am I justified in not feeling very good about the history of the new rents that are drastically higher than they were before and fear that some tenants might not be able to handle the higher rents especially with a recession on the horizon? 

Fees should be clearly stated in writing, easy to understand, and justifiable.