I’d like to pull out a HELOC on my property to pay down some outstanding debt and perhaps close my first rental deal.

Check with your attorney on how to proceed.In my mind... and perhaps the borrow may be thinking the same thing... if you're in Ohio and they are in Alaska... how much money are you going to spend to make the situation right when the outstanding balance is at $12k? 

I have been lucky enough to be a limited partner in a 250+ multifamily in Houston for 5 years now which has produced outstanding returns so I felt why not get involved more directly.

Divide it by 12 then that's a monthly income of $610.Cash Flow: $610 (income) - $466 (expenses) = $144Cash on Cash would be: $1,728 / $29,922  = 5.70% It's not outstanding but at least, it's not negative.Another option is just to sell it and start over (now at least, am better equipped with this experience and not make the same mistake).Any other advice for me?

Charleston has an outstanding investor community.

So I won a certificate in 2018 that had no outstanding liens. 

Whether the outstanding loan balance would be a distribution or a rollover could be a significant factor in how you choose to proceed.

We also made sure there were no outstanding liens on the property. 

Bank will give you 70-75% value of home minus outstanding loans.

The outstanding units he still owns include 2 triplexes, 3 duplexes, and 2 single family homes.