Cash out refinance or HELOC?

[Donna Xu]

It feels like I should have more cash reserve in case of losing my job or having an opportunity to buy another rental property. However, the home prices have increased even higher due to the lower interest rate. It is hard to find any good deals on the market. So if I do cash out refinance on my rental property, the cash might not get used to buy. But if I lose my job, the cash will help. Furthermore, refinancing has closing cost and it will increase the mortgage and lower the cash flow on the rental property. Shall I just open HELOC on my primary house in case I need cash? Is HELOC more risky than cash out refinance since you use your home as collateral? Thank you.