Newbie - Take the next step?

[Jeremy Pastore]

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to real estate investing and am looking for some advice.  I bought my first investment property in Brooklyn NY ~6 years ago.  It generates a profit each month (rent is 4500/mo, expenses including mortgage are around 3500-4000.

Currently the property is worth about double the outstanding mortgage balance.  Most of this equity is due to appreciation in property values over the period I have owned it.

I would like to take the next step in expanding this investment portfolio, but am unsure of how to do that.

So, my question for the more experienced investors out there is - what should I do next?  Should I hold the property and wait to save enough $ to buy another one (due to high property values in the area this may take several more years)?  Or should I try and use the equity in this property to help buy something else?

I don't know for sure, but I think it will be hard to find something in the Brooklyn/NYC area that would command rental income high enough to offset the interest on a HELOC (I'm estimating around ~1K/mo) in addition to the regular mortgage payments and expenses. It seems like mortgages have outpaced rents over the past 5+ years or so in this area.

I'd appreciate any advice from the community!