So, I am not opposed to using a HELOC in this manner but your #s have to work.

Out of all the people I've ever met, these people are the most supremely confident that they are the cream of humanity, always destined to rise to the top.Repression works great.

Logic would dictate that those businesses that grew to large companies had a better product or service then those who didn't as in any industry the cream will rise to the top.So what do you do when your local mom & pop Property Manager runs into a problem they've never encountered before?

@Brian S.

You got creamed because you got in over your head. 20k over on something that doesn't cashflow properly is an impulse purchase not a level headed business decision. 

A confounding factor could be refi's, which could shave .25-.75 basis points off a mortgage.

You can't fit a round peg into a square hole unless you shave the peg. 

So, I shave more and am working on getting some better threads.

I don't have this venture fully executed yet, I'm in the exploration/research phase of it but the plan is to dock it at the marina (where they have a convenient store & ice cream shop/picnic area and as far as renovation, I'm still learning that but my thought is that we can do higher quality materials and finishings since the square footage is so much smaller. 

Enjoy a Lappert's ice cream for me!