The easiest and straight forward option would be, as you said, to sell the current residence, payoff the HELOC (or most of it) and then get back to saving with your jobs and the rental cashflow.

Hey Rich,I'm only at 21 units (closing on another 4 next month), but I work a full-time job and also got my real estate license this year, so my plate's pretty full. 

You'll potentially increase your stress, fail to replace your lost income, and possibly lose part or all of your investment property equity.Focus on replacing your job and stabilizing your finances.

The important part of investing is the calculations of a deal, having capital, and a W2 job that will help you get loans.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Now we're seeing incredible population and job growth and major companies moving and developing here like Intel and Amazon - great macroeconomics and strong rental demand.

Some do a great job, many do okay, some do a terrible job. 

I was interested in both classes but as i have a full time job and young kids i wanted to see if there was any flexibility in when i could take the 2nd class, which was NOT offered in the Atlanta area.

When choosing a location, focus on markets with job growth, population increases, and a diverse economy.

., @Jay Hinrichs and @V.G Jason have done an excellent job of laying out a flaw in your thinking, and I will take it a couple of points further.1.