You can purchase a primary home with seller financing, then rent out the spare rooms to generate income.

For example, I see newer investors attempting wholesaling or bird-dogging for other investors to generate additional income to invest.

Every day I mark how many calls to leads I made, how many people I contacted (and was it email, call, text) from my database/past clients....how many social media posts I answered or made, etc.I don't know if that's automating, but every week I can quickly see how much of each money generating thing I did.Do you use Google Calendar? 

They also get a small bonus on every review they generate.

Higher ReturnsCo-living generates up to 5X the cash flow of a traditional rental.

.* Day 4: Maintenance responds to my pest control request by spraying a $30 bottle of Walmart roach spray around the house like I couldn't and didn't do that already. * Day 5: I find a live roach on my windowsill the next morning.Currently: One bathroom is taped shut and not working.

The idea is simple: purchase a property, live in one part, and rent out the rest to offset your mortgage or even generate profit.

Quote from @Zoe Brennan: I’m looking for the smartest way to invest $25K to generate the best returns and scale my portfolio as quickly as possible.

+1 for AirDNA - I recommend using one of their premium monthly subscriptions to explore the actual comps and not just their auto generated projection. 

Use the HELOC on cash-generating opportunities like flips, then use the cash generated to buy long-term buy and hold investments.