Then sell the property and start doing fix and flip or fix and rent. ( I prefer to sell this property as it 100km away from my student rentals. ) Not sure if I should renovate the lower unit to sell.

This is what the assessed tax value will reset to after you purchase.  

I dont know the terms of this specific home equity agreement but the ones I have seen in the past were pretty expensive.

I would review this with your agent.  

.- Legal and Tax Implications: This strategy involves intricate legal and tax details.

Hope this was helpful.

This is one of those, as is the neighboring properties (all of which operate as duplexes, though officially are noted as SF).

.✅ Start demo—this means ripping out finishes (cabinets, flooring, tile, trim), not knocking down walls unless absolutely necessary.✅ Clear the site—haul off junk, trim trees, and clean up the yard so you can actually see what you’re working with.Get this step right, and everything else will go a lot smoother.

This is going to bring my mortgage payments to around $2.3k per month. 

This would give me an edge in investing in townhomes/condos, but I'm having difficulty finding condo investing resources.