HELOC vs cash out refinance / funding for next deal in S Florida

[Marissa Mallamo]

Hi there! I recently turned my first townhome in the delray beach area into a rental with about $300 per month in cash flow! I am now interested in investing In a second property. Possibly a flip or another buy and hold. I have about $35k + in equity and would like some advice on the best way to go about pulling that out to reinvest. The interest rate on it currently is 4.75%. Is it better to try to refinance to a lower rate and take cash out at the same time or open a HELOC ? Can I even qualify for a cash out refinance now that I do not occupy the property myself? How easy it is to qualify for a second mortgage if my current property has only been rented out for 2 months? (My fiancé and I are investing together so the first mortgage is in my name only and mortgage on our new home that we now live in is in his name only due to it being a VA loan) the second investment property would hopefully be in both our names or maybe just mine because he now has a much larger mortgage in his name. I'm very new to this and any clarification or advice is appreciated as I'm sure there is a lot of factors I'm not even taking into consideration right now. Thanks in advance!