I just inherited a house! HELP!....Lending Strategy Question

[Amanda Pagano]

Hi there,

My mom and I recently inherited a 2 family house that we intend on renting out. We have 100% equity in the property. I am struggling to decide on a financing/lending strategy to make the most out of our equity. 

The house's Zillow estimate is roughly $750,000. The 2nd-floor unit needs to be completely redone to be rent-ready and the first-floor unit/ exterior needs some work too, the total estimated cost of the work is $100,000. I intend on purchasing another property within the next 1-2 years. I am debating between a HELOC & Home Equity Loan for this current project.

Does it make sense to take as much equity out of the house as possible NOW with a HELOC to pay for renovations & prepare to finance my next purchase?

Or

Should I take out a Home equity loan now for the $100,000 to finance renovations and then later re-finance/take out another loan when the time comes to buy another property? 

My mom and I would be taking these loans out together and our combined debt-income ratio is not great, at the moment she has high debt and I have low income. 

I am excited to be learning about RE investing and so grateful to be in this position but I am terrified of making a mistake.

Thanks in advance!