Maybe you mean debt to income?  

I know debt can help you scale faster.

If I sold, I could be debt-free and have extra money each month to invest elsewhere.

(I can say that as someone from massachusetts)But people need to be careful as a CFD is consumer debt and if the borrower contests - all that interest they owe you could be wiped out as if you are not sending statements, I believe the law is then interest could be wiped out and considered invalid.

I also do a Christmas card with some cash at the end of the year. 

We bought at 375k, are currently renovating the basement, and have income of $4725 (before utilities, insurance, and debt service) right now.

Consider options like Bank Statement Loans, Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) Loans, and co-signing.

It may not entirely make sense to go from a 30 year mortgage to 15 year mortgage if your debt to income ratio is tight in any sense.

if the property is in Oregon they need state MLS and NMLS registration for ANY loan on a 1 to 4 unit regardless of purpose.thanks appreciate your feedback- we're only pocking $40k after paying off another heloc and debt. need to finish a big electrical job on the house, etc. so can't save up, but still have over $100K equity.

And to @Jay Hinrichs's point, I see no safeguards for gators when teaching about gap funding, EMD funding, or any other tactic that they try and sell which tells you to get 0% interest credit cards and build business credit to be used to lend out.