I would try and simulate an amortizing loan based on how much $ you are using from the HELOC.

If you decide to leave the Columbus area and head back to the Front Range (I'm in Fort Collins) look into a 1031 exchange or keep the property there and do it again out here, or whatever market you find yourself in.I would also recommend getting involved in some local REI clubs, analyzing your market, simulating deals, networking, all that good stuff.  

I plan to have all CC debt gone by year end, which according to the credit score simulator on my credit card (using transunion data) It should bump me up to around 640 or so.

Last time I looked at SFCU's zero down jumbo stuff, I was seeing numbers in the mid 5s using where the index is at today to simulate the adjustment 5 years from now (when the index might be higher, who knows). 

In expensive markets like NYC, San Fran, Chicago, this sounds more common than I thought.Just because it is common, doesn't necessarily make it a good idea ...Run a little simulation for yourself ... look at what a property would sell for and rent for 20 years ago in your expensive area and cheap elsewhere area, then project that forward to what they sell for and rent for today ... which one would've performed better for you (estimating cashflow + appreciation, calculating IRR)?

As long as private lenders and REIs are liquid and excited to invest still out there, (which they will be, presuming interest rates aren’t monstrous and the stock market doesn’t entirely crash over the next 12 months) then the real estate market will be just fine.However, if inflation takes off, all bets are off and every simulation out there needs to be thrown in the trash.

You can run a simulation of this on your property by just figuring out what your taxes and overall cash flow would look like if you purchased the property today and compared your actual property tax bill against the hypothetical bill. 

It is a LOT harder to decipher THAT, and come up with some barbaric equation-simulation that extracts EVERYTHING and spits out an answer, than it is to just build a website and rank #1 and dominate... honestly.yup yup.Overlord has spoken!

You could ask your loan officer to run a What If simulator to see how much of a score boost you would get by paying down your balances even further.

You may be able to get to an average cost per sq/ft if you are dealing with very simulate properties in the same zip code.