If you take a line of credit secured against another asset then you're essentially buying for cash.  

A POF from a convential lender means you have passed the lender's credit and income criteria, and if the property appraises high enough, with no title issues, financing will be available.Since hard money lenders place much more emphasis on the property securing the loan, the POF letter ranges from significantly less reliable as compared to a letter from a conventional lender, to outright worthless (some hard money lenders provide a form and you fill in the blanks, i.e. no real approval).

Maybe it gives me a false sense of security?  

They must secure the home and be the party responsible, not sure you want to take on that risk, with no safety net.

We have a very nice duplex there in a "good" part of the 19th Ward and had a very difficult time renting it to a qualified tenant (someone who didn't smoke, without evictions, could pay a security deposit, etc), let alone a student.

@James UryckiHello and Welcome to BiggerPockets, the Best Real Estate site on the web.

still have some friends in Montreal, most of whom are involved in IT or Web design.  

In order to secure a loan, most lenders require the property to be in an LLC or Corp.

.* Swap some of that debt around, put it on a HELOC secured by some other property. * Do it 75% first mortgage, 5% 2nd mortgage.

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