Owning a duplex at 20 is a huge accomplishment, and it’s inspiring to see you’re already planning your next move.From my perspective, real estate investing is a long-term game focused on building equity, paying down debt, and maintaining stability over chasing short-term cash flow.

Out of the 5 deals I am LP in, Rod's are giving me the top 2 returns (primarily due to fixed debt) while others, not so much but their returns do get accrued

While I do maintain a relatively modest percentage of my assets in money market instruments, corporate debt funds, and high dividend stocks, I remain most comfortable with the investments I specialize in and know best.  

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

Trying to decide if we should use a home equity loan for the remodel, do we need to put current home under LLC to help with debt to income ratio & would that affect getting the home equity loan?

Just to add to what has been said here - if the seller described this as a triplex on the sale documents, they might have a legal liability.  

Read my book, Brandon's book, or Every Landlord's Legal Guide by NOLO and learn how to proactively manage your property well. 

Any repair issues the new acquisition has you will feel to much greater magnitude due to the property carrying a lot of debt.

I have very little debt besides mortgages and have spent my own money doing renovation over the last few years.

To avoid reducing your lifetime exemption, you could gift equity incrementally, but this requires proper legal structuring (e.g., fractional ownership transfers).