Show the lease agreement, show his rent payment history, and show any written evidence from the tenant that he admits to being late/unpaid.

You can also send payments to credit card whenever you have spare money.

BUT there have been 24 late payments with the last late payment made in Nov 2024 and  0 paid on time.

I used 7/1 arm provided by builder. its 5.25 with 30% down payment

You could offset your mortgage payment on a bigger house with the cash flow from the rental. 

What type of transaction fees should I be looking to pay and is there a down payment required?

Personally, I wouldn't use a heloc to then go purchase a primary residence, unless what you can rent the current SFH for enough to cover the current mortgage (assuming there is one on the property) and the heloc payments.

If so and the monthly payment isn't too bad then you're still moving the needle forward if your main goal is wealth generation and not just cash flow. 

It depends on what the terms of your mortgage are.Pros-with no mortgage, you have higher cash flow.Cons-if you plan on buying more properties, you are better off saving the money for a down payment for your next place.The big questions are: can you get higher than 7% return if you invest that money elsewhere? 

@Charles EvansFrom my experience, having rental income of $1,400 to offset a $2,600 mortgage, leaving you with a $1,200 payment, is a manageable setup with an income-to-mortgage ratio of 28.5%.