HELOC vs Cash Out Refi

[Justin Lance]

I am a newbie investor looking to get started in real estate. I have my primary residence with ~$20k in equity that I could pull out via a HELOC or cash out refi to purchase a duplex that I intend to house hack and make my current primary residence a rental property. I am in the process of rehabbing my bathroom and hope to be done in the next couple of weeks. I am struggling with the HELOC vs cash out refi and when to get that process started if my primary residence isn't quite ready to be appraised yet. Also, is it smart to pull my equity now with only ~20k or should I let it continue to grow? Any advice is greatly appreciated.