Are you talking about getting a single portfolio loan to cover the 3 mortgages?

And I just read some things about insurance companies not covering losses if they determine your house is either vacant or unoccupied. 

Should I be refinancing to just cover my total project costs to pay back my heloc and other initial costs? 

I called around to a few property managers to get a lay of the land while screening them and have a property under contract.

My thinking is that there is room to raise rents, perhaps screen for better tenants that take care of the place and decrease the maintenance cost and get the NOI up above $100k/yr. 

Hard to cover up cat issues, don't pay around.

I get they need to make their money to cover their expenses but don't always think of the person they are getting the home from and the consequences of it not closing for the seller.

If you took that amount and depreciated it by 25%, would it cover the full nut for your current home? 

I will look into landlord tenant laws and start my funding venture.  97% of the asking price is high but then again if I can get a good MFR the rents will more than cover the monthly expenses, at least from what I have seen on the rental market. 

You could just cover it with 1/4" drywall effectively covering.