First Time Home Buyer looking to HELOC for a BRRRR

[Brandon Larson]

First-time homeowner and BRRR. I have owned my duplex for 18 months now. One unit is renovated and rented, and I occupy the other unit. I have significant equity in the home because of a large down payment. I am looking to get that money out to do renovations on the unit I occupy, as well as invest in another multi-family property. I have cash reserves for the renovations, but I don't want to run them dry. I am currently applying for a HELOC because I don't know if a cash-out refi makes sense with the current prime rates (my mortgage is locked in at 3.25% and I don't know if it's worth refinancing at a much higher rate.) Does it make sense to do a HELOC in this scenario? And if rates go down and I want to do a cash-out refi later, will I have to pay back the HELOC in full first before I can do so? Or can I pay back the HELOC with the cash-out refi money directly after?