I would start by finding areas you actually WANT to live and go from there.Picking a place to call home simply because it has a real estate market that you feel will fit your goals is a great way to end up miserable. 

If you find an actual property that looks like a homerun and would warrant a HELOC, then you can go for it without reservation.

AirDNA might not be an accurate reflection of your potential, especially if you're in an underserved market.

Hi @Konstantinos Lembesis When Settling on a market develop some metrics that you can not only measure the market you are interested in but others that you havn't considered yet. 

Look at North Bergen, Bayonne, Linden, Carteret and Elizabeth (be careful there) as possible alternatives.Also take what I said with a grain of salt, if you're not pulling the trigger for a year all of this info could be outdated as the market changes rapidly 

We market that there is a golf cart available with signed waiver and copy of ID/insurance.3.

But in today’s market, with high interest rates and increasing home prices, finding a perfect deal that checks every box is nearly impossible.

There's actually a good chance your overall "cash out" with the HELOC will be higher (most banks will go up to 90% vs 80% is generally the highest a cash-out will do) albeit at a higher interest rate, but you can protect the original mortgage rate if its very low (2020/2021 rates).Also consider the flexibility of only pulling on the HELOC when you need it thereby keeping expenses down.

I'm going to see something on-market that is fairly distressed later this week and will probably make an offer at a price that works for me.  

Located on a mostly owner-occupied street, this one was on market about 2-3 weeks and then closed in a month to a cash, investor buyer.