Or do I just need to rent it out and accumulate more equity first?  

You’ve developed a moderately fast wealth accumulation strategy that’s relatively low risk, enabling you to ride out down cycles, negative cash flows, unexpected necessary expenditures, etc.  

Interest rate determines the rate at which interest accumulates on each dollar of debt, and there's nothing magical about HELOC debt or amortized debt for that matter. 

I appreciate that, and you're right, any back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that much of the wealth comes from the equity accumulation, even in the earlier stages of the amortization schedule.

After 45 + years as a real estate investor, broker, lender, fund manager and syndicator, I’ve become aware that the “dream” of many investors and investor “hopefuls” is to be able to generate enough cash flow to live off their real estate holdings and accumulate enough wealth to make “work” optional.

Can you do side hustles, cut down costs to get rid of these debts?

For the past two years, I’ve been diving deep into the world of real estate, and I’ve accumulated over four years of active experience in acquisitions.

I have recently just purchased my 4th investment property all in my name and have accumulated a DTI of 45.9%.

But also remember to take reports by tenants of snow not getting shoveled with a huge deer lick of salt—the crew may have just finished and snow can and does accumulate rapidly in between trips. 

There was no debt on the land and she lost the house so I swapped her the land and she kept the house free and clear..