Start by making a low offer to the tenants and see if they’re interested.

The goal of a HELOC is a quick line of credit to either refinance or sell and pay back the HELOC as soon as possible.PS - I would recommend taking a look into the Columbus Ohio market, there's tons of 1% rule deals still within the 120-180k price point with amazing appreciation potential.

. - Once an owner knows what materials are being used, they can then check pricing at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. - Some materials for bigger jobs, like concrete, are harder to check pricing on.

No social or credit pull needed upfront. 

- very low remaining mortgage balance!!

As a builder, I target about 15-20% profit per build ($500k-800k price range, low-mid in my area).

You have used home equity lines of credit to purchase investment rentals and want to know the best way to pay down the HELOCs.Between the two properties you bought, after expenses, you have $250 a month positive cashflow to use.What I like to do is pay down some principal every month with my positive cashflow.I use my extra active income from real estate commissions helping other investors to pay down the principal even more which just frees up that credit for me to use again.I know I can refinance the HELOC debt before it changes to principal and interest as it is just interest only payments as yours are.One difference is the cashflow, I have greater positive cashflow and could make the principal and interest payment in the future with the extra cashflow I already enjoy.I always get HELOCs on my income properties as well after purchasing them to pull out as much of my downpayment as possible.

Financing and Exit Strategies MatterMany house hackers use FHA or low-down-payment conventional loans.

Just taxes will be 20k.I would run numbers like this:Property 1.5 million (minimum)Construction (Cheap end) 2.14 mHolding Costs (at least 150k)In my book, even according to your calculation, that means you put in at least (those numbers are on the low end): 3.8m! 

I finally understand that credit card payments are exempt from needing to send 1099's.