A reliable lender can fund a loan within days, this opens the door to countless more deals allowing you to get the best possible price. 

I am open for either options but would like experts advice for a newbie - which will be most beneficial  down the line in 5 to 10 years. 

There are a bunch of different figures associated with this decision, such as new interest rate, old interest rate, cash flow of new property etc, but I'm having a hard time getting my mind around how to analyze the decision mathematically.  

The struggle comes when you plan to sell, pay close attention to how the bank would treat the loan in the event you would sell.Even though its a bit more work, banks are typically open to these loans as it provides them with additional collateral in the event of default.  

I am very new and am open to any and all suggestions/help. 

I encourage you to dive deep into forums, listen to podcasts, and connect with like-minded individuals.

Keep in mind these cities become hot because of past data, not future.

I’m eager to connect with like-minded professionals and make great deals happen!

We are coming down to get a feel for some neighborhoods we've been looking at moving too and don't really have too much planned so I thought it would be a great time to connect with some lenders, investors, contractors, and liked mind individuals while I'm there!

HELOCs are fine, but keep in mind that you really only want to use 50 percent of less (each) of your available equity just so you aren't creating a problem that you can't solve later if the value of your personal residences fluctuates.If you both have W2 jobs though, have you looked into getting qualified together and just getting a loan, 10 percent down each?