I think knowing more numbers, heloc limit, plans and objectives for future goals all should play into "what is best".

A prominent MLO in the northeast was recently charged and stripped of his license for playing this game with his borrowers.Also, everything is reviewed by underwriting.

Also something to consider is what is the appreciation play looking like? 

Assuming that a new construction home will appreciate 5% just because that's the average for the market can be dead wrong!

nice job I grew up flipping land I love that play still fund land flippers to this day is a niche of lending that I have carved out.. 

The big boys play this as a team sport, so think about what you need to know, who you can get it from and then go find that person.

Well....should you invest in a city where the people elected a woman with foreclosures, liens, judgements, garnishments, ethical violations from the state ethics board,  misused a city credit card, went three years arrears on her federal taxes all while yelling for other people to pay "  their fair share, " left skeletonized dead bodies hanging over Canal St for months on end covered only by a tarp until the wind blew it off to reveal to our horror her blatant disrespect for human dignity?

Together, they have a lot of units in play there and have done very well with long-term rents and mid-term as well.

Selling now avoids capital gains tax and lets you reinvest into a new primary home and a solid rental property, which feels like the safer play given the cash flow challenges and ARM timeline.

The STR, if purely an appreciation play,  is speculation to me.