Advice appreciated for financial situation

[Ally Alvarez]

Long story short- I am wondering if I am in a position to get started with real estate investing or if I should take care of debt first. 

Single income (married with kids) and own primary house with $250k+ in equity. Also fair amount of debt (2 car notes, Heloc used to remodel primary house). 

With those details, I am wondering if we should use the equity in our home to purchase an investment property? Or wait until we have 2 incomes to build more of a solid financial safety net. 

[Travis Biziorek]

It's really not enough detail. There's no mention of your income, monthly expenses, DTI, risk tolerance, goals, etc. You used a HELOC already but no clue how much is drawn.

My initial thought is you should at least pay off the HELOC before starting. I love using HELOC's for investing as long as you have a plan to pay it down quickly.

How long have you had the HELOC open? What's the plan to pay it down?

Lots and lots of questions before anyone can help you through this. Even then, it comes down to risk tolerance, your investing plan, and your goals.