HELOC risks/ advise on rentals

[Scott Banta]

So I have kind of an odd situation. and I looked through the other threads and can't find my answer. I bought a duplex years back as a primary residence and a rental with the other unit. 2 years later I had to refinance to get my ex's name off of it and since it was a "multifamily dwelling" no bank would loan a single income borrower more than 75% LTV. I finally found a bank that gave me a HELOC at 80% LTV. I later changed jobs and in turn moved cities, got remarried, had kids, and bought another home. I kept the duplex and it is paying for itself but the HELOC is at 100K and is virtually maxed out and property is worth about 130K. I've heard the HELOC works like a credit card in that if you utilize more than 40% of credit available it has a negative effect on your credit score. is this true? should I try to refi into a traditional loan once i get it paid down to 75% LTV or use the HELOC as a revolving account and just pay it off ASAP? Or should I sell it and just be done with the headache of this property and invest my money into something else?what are some risks to HELOCS? can the bank freeze my HELOC for any reason without notice?