You want an investment that pays for itself, including mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and even some money set aside for a reserve to cover vacancies and capital expenditures.

The tax benefits refer to the tax deductions from mortgage interest and property tax.The returns mainly rely on appreciation, and the cash flow only improves in the last few years, also depending on securing the 5% refinance rate.I've learned a lot from this forum, but as I start to operate on my own, I'm still not completely confident.

Nate @Nate Marroquin   You can use the income from your tax returns on the current rental adding back your paper loss (depreciation) and add back the mortgage interest, property taxes, home owners insurance deductions on your tax returns. 

One has no mortgage, their other has a HELOC for around $20k remaining and is coming to its 10year term that was established before placing with LLC.My predicament is how/best way to pull equity out of either property for a down payment for the 3 family that is valued around $450k.

Foremost, Proper are 2 big ones.Don't skimp and get the place insured properly.

You want to make sure they are properly installed and you don't want tenants moving large appliances in and out of the house as it will cause damage. 

So are you saying the Mortgage One deal would be the way to go? 

you have the proper team, go for it you can do this. best of luck and if have any questions let me know.

Additionally, lenders may require a release price (a specific amount to pay down the loan) for each property sold, which can complicate the strategy.It’s worth discussing these details with a trusted lender or mortgage broker to ensure the plan aligns with the loan’s terms.

. $300sqft to build at least.If you have any sort of mortgage on the property you will need an attorney to handle the mountain of paperwork the bank will give you for a lien release. 10k+, also probably some nightmare terms to have to build and sell immediately and god knows what.At this point a year has passed and you have spent at least $60,000 cash, you're about to break ground on a structure that will cost you at the very least $400,000 to build, you are still 1 year away from cashing out because you have to now build a house.