We ran out of time which caused us to buy a couple properties we probably shouldn't have at the bottom of our exchange list.The better ones were sold before we could buy them. 

We also have many unique buyer incentives where an investor can get up to a 10% price reduction to come into immediate equity, or get that 10% as a cash back at closing to reduce your down payment and increase your ROI, or buy rates down into the low 4s on 30yr loans to maximize cash flow.

Then, if you can trend over time you'll want to see where the "path of progress" is going/moving and attempt to buy in that path of progress to gain some appreciation in the future.

The current average rent on the new buy is $925.

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Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I would suggest you do both of what you suggest - meaning get either a new mortgage (more conservative route) or HELOC on the townhome and use those funds to buy your next investment property.

Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

for double closing you would need your funds to buy then sell it to end buyer at premium. there are transactional funding companies that can lend the cash for a fee.

I would recommend you look for a good neighborhood to buy a multi family in.