When we moved, we put a renter in, and kept the HELOC, we didn't tap into it, so balance was ZERO.  

Any idea how long I would have to wait before I could get a HELOC?  

I currently have a $250k HELOC at 4% fixed/5 yrs.Potential property:Asking price $250Sacramento, CA.

If so perhaps you could get a HELOC on your primary residence and use that as the downpayment (or part of it) to conserve cash?

So I took the 15K out and made a payment to my HELOC. 

--------to explain numbers work for me, I won't put our exact #:We bought our unit for  $450K (2001) and sold it for $850K (2015)It had a HELOC (home equity line of credit) which helped me buy 6 other units in its 14 yrs of ownership of $300K.Making our Proceed about 550K (You have to take into account all the closing cost, I m just using simple math)Originally I thought that only need to find something in the 550K, which was easy here and incur no debt....

-------if u pay cash and u can cash flow 1200/mo, you aren't really stuck. you can cash out financing, or get a home line of credit on your primary home. that's how we paid for 6 homes.with savings and rent we pay down the HELOC. and when we see a deal, we pay cash from heloc and cash on hand. 

I recently used this technique for a purchase after everything was said and done I was 12k in and the house worth was 32K, and I Refi  out with a HELOC (80%LTV) so paying the cards off really isn't a concern.

You take out a $125,000 HELOC from this house to invest in multi family properties. 

Talk to a lender but what about adding a HELOC to your existing mortgage (such a great rate - too bad to let it go...).