Cash Out Refinance or HELOC

[Rickey Wiley]

Hello BP Family,

I have been searching the forums for my needs when it comes to financing my next property and I'm still stuck at which decision to make (Side note I am an active RE buy-and-hold investor). Here is the situation I am in:

I have a mult-family Duplex I am looking to purchase around $150-200K. At the current moment I have 5 other properties (5 separate loans) with not much equity tied up in them since they were all purchased within the last 4 years. After speaking with lenders the most I could get out on one of my properties using a cash-out refinance would be 10-12K. My next purchase would most certainly require 20-25% down going conventional.

My question is how will I need to go about financing my next property in the situation I'm in. I have heard about doing a HELOC but haven't really understood how that works or what steps I'll need to take. Should I start looking for a down payment assistance program I mean any and all advice will be helpful for me if someone could please help with the dilemma I'm facing.

-Thank You