Just got a HELOC for 40k now what to do

[Heidi Smith]

So after 2 months of waiting I finally got my HELOC! Yay..... But it's only for 40k so now what do I do? I'm in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and prices are pretty high. I can get a duplex for around 200k but it would only bring in about 200-400$ per month. That I would use to payback the HELOC. Is that a good start or does anyone have any better ideas. I have good credit and stable work history. I was thinking to use the HELOC for down payment and conventional loan. Also I'm not opposed to living in one side of duplex and renting out my primary. But my primary has a pool, garage, etc so I feel like that would create more of a challenge for me bc of maintenance. Any ideas... I'm completely open minded. I just want to do this right. My goal is to own multiple rentals as buy and hold ultimately. Thanks in advance!