First investment property BRRRR on STR using heloc for downpmt

[Stuart Penman]

Hi I'm new to this, learning, and looking to clarify the best strategy. Apologies if this is in the forum and I haven't found this exactly yet. I'm looking.

I have found a number of properties with numbers that look like they will have substantial cashflow with minimal rehab if I rent them as short term rentals in a beach / vacation area. I'm trying to work out the best way to exit the first property and repeat after. I see two options for exit (without having to resort to trying to flip - which likely isn't an option with the direction this local market is going). In both options the B and the first two Rs are the same - I buy using a HELOC to fund the downpayment and rehab, a conventional mortgage to fund the purchase. Renting the properties will produce good cashflow -around 20% cash on cash. - that, plus loan paydown is enough, to initially think it's probably worth doing. I'm stuck on the exit strategy to be able to repeat (which is important to whether or not it's actually a good deal)

Where I am stuck is this - do I want my cash out refi to appraise just high enough to pay off just the HELOC against my primary residence so I can have that paid back until I find another deal to repeat the process... or is the goal to (properly BRRRR?) and have the cash out refi pay off the HELOC and have enough left over to invest as my next down payment then rinse and repeat from there?

The easiest and most obvious path to me is to just get the HELOC repaid and repeat but, I would prefer to get to a place where I'm not risking my primary residence via the HELOC on repeat - I could potentially do this within a few years via funds accumulated from cashflow. When I run the numbers it seems due to the minimal rehab needed, the amount of value I can add to the property in the short term is limited, and limits my ability to have a high enough appraisal to both pay back the HELOC and have money left for the next down payment. I also hesitate to buy a property needing substantial rehab (which would afford a higher value added) using a HELOC on my first investment to be safe. I'm curious what those with more experience than me would do if they were evaluating this. If I'm thinking through this correctly just getting the HELOC back out would mean all my money into the deal comes back out.