I am looking to gain mentorship and relationships!

This would allow you to defer the capital gains tax, and instead of taking a large tax hit, you would be able to use the tax to invest in a nicer property/properties.

@Derick JenningsRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

At this time the primary goal is passive income and then scale within 5 years as I gain more experience and network. 

I would keep it in a high interest bank account might as well earn as much gain as you can no matter how small it is.However I think some debt pay down would be great not to the point where you are not liquid enough to Jump at another opportunity or can’t make a major repair when it arise.

I’m here to gain insight into the investment side of things, and connect with people already familiar.

That number seems high but the neighborhood was “hot” and houses sold really quickly.What I cared about most was completing my second deal to gain experience.

Also, I'm not sure how you're paying attention to it on the tax side, but the unit that you are living in's profit at sale is calculated differently than the other unit that you're renting out.Once you move out, that unit is officially available for rent so from that point forward, any profit gained at future sale will be calculated starting from that point and will be taxable.

.: I would go HELOC for sure that would be best as others were saying the lower cost for the money changes between paying a higher rate for a personal line and typically personal lines they want a higher monthly charge as well independent from the interest rate.  

It really depends on your comfort level and long-term goals, but even if you want to get into multifamily long-term, SFR may be the best option to gain some comfortability.