2nd Home purchase but DTI is already 43%

[Karan More]

Hello guys, I purchased a townhouse last year and planning to take another property this year. Plan is to shift in new home as primary residence and make 1st home as rental. Already my DTI is 43% as per my gross monthly paycheck. If I take HELOC to buy another property, then my current lender says "May face difficulty during your 2nd home purchase if DTI goes above 50% (1st mortgage + 2nd mortgage + HELOC + Other loans payment contributes to 43%)".
I plan to buy another property, around close to 150K-250K in CT area nearby so can look over 1st property as well. Not sure what are my options if I want to proceed further in buying 2nd home without having DTI issue with lender.
Any suggestions would help.