On that note, how do you handle things Iike light bulbs?

It was simply a  pilot light out and simply needed to be lit.

Light, medium or heavy projects ?

Each type of asset has different requirements especially commercial vs residential but overall the process looks like this for commercial or multi family:Check with the city or county to determine what is required for all approvals including site plan and building permits, proffers, water/sewer tap fees, bonding requirements, inspections and CO process and time frame for all approvals.You also need to check with the utility companies and get an idea of availability and cost estimates from them for water, sewer, power, gas, cable, installation and connection requirements, tap fees, hookup charges, transformer location and relocation, power line and power pole relocation issues.Check to see if you have to install any manholes,fire hydrants, curb, gutter, sidewalks, street signs, street lighting any specific street design or access requirements,.Check DOT requirements for access, stop lights and permits, traffic studiesDWQ requirements for permits, permit fees, time framesThis is a broad overview of the process and your civil engineer can handle all of this but it's good for you to know exactly what's required.Residential is much easier but similar considerations.

But if you know you can cover your mortgage if you drop your rents $50/mo and occupancy decreases by 5%-10%, then you should feel pretty comfortable.In my opinion (which may not mean much), 5-year IRRs will settle in the low teens for light value-add assets, compared to many sponsors today pitching 20% deal-level IRRs.

Does anyone understand what my mortgage company is talking about that can shed some light on this?

I'm knee deep in this stuff right now so let me shed some light to hopefully help.First, a question. 

Please could some one shed some light on this matter for me?

The reason for this is if you heloc you only have to pay back the money you use, with a refi you are responsible for the entire refi amount which can cause you to be overleveraged especially in light of the current economic situation.

The rental market is good there and I have two property managers picked out as well as a contractor to do light updates and repairs.