So there payments are $200 - $400 dollars under market.

Keep in mind of the I/O(payments/period) and game plan on how fast you'd like to pay it down. 

In addition this fire storm started when payments stopped or payments were returned to the bank NSF.

Do you need to refinance quickly to avoid a balloon payment or other financial pressure?

For our ADU (garage conversion), I am handling the design/engineering and then selecting a final contractor once its permitted and ready to go. 

@Timothy Frazier Yes, the only reason to use HML as a down payment is if the property is "mostly turnkey" AND you don't have the funds to renovate AND you have strong CMA comps from a real estate agent that supports that the fact that you are buying a property that is under valued AND your renovations would push that so that you could refinance.

I am currently in the planning phase of my real estate investment journey and had a few questions I’d like to ask someone more experienced.Would it be smarter to focus on paying down my own mortgage and then use a HELOC as a down payment for my first investment property, or should I simply use my savings for the down payment instead?

Not able to move (at least for a while) due to my job.Looking to use savings that would’ve been for a primary residence down payment to invest in rental property out of state.Would love to make connections, hear thoughts on good markets to look into, strategies to maximize return, etc. 

You have to borrow your equity and then make payments on it.

Shes carrying 60k in debt from student loans as well as cc bills, but she makes payments on time.