The advice I've been given, and chosen to follow, is to utilize HELOCs for short-term investments, with a plan to pay them off in less than a year and to avoid holding them long-term.Do you know what the value of your recent rental property purchase is?  

Trying to weigh out if the potential upside would be worth it, but that's a calculated gamble.

Instead of focusing on what you want to learn, and hoping you will be a puzzle piece fit for learning that from someone else- chosen at random.

This may be because the contractor was chosen incorrectly, but to say this is not a risk is naive. 

Stocks are a gamble- real estate- if you know what you're doing- is an investment.

I can't afford to gamble. 

So, for exampe, if you're in the business of selling a product, be it houses, horses, or Halloween costumes, your chosen pro needs to where to stick your inventory, and how to track it.

Built into the paperwork, signed at closing, reads the fine print as to whether the lender has chosen a 5-year balloon or a 5-year loan reset.If an investor chooses a balloon payment, this means that he or she will be getting a new loan at the end of the 5-year period.

Conversely, if your plan is to be more hands-off than on, either go with a turn-key offering or find yourself a local partner in the area of the U.S.A. where you have chosen to invest.

@Monir BadeerI would not recommend doing this unless you are going to go to your chosen market in person to build your team