That's dangerously low for 2 properties, at least if I were you.

Using space heaters and the oven to heat is dangerous and could ultimately result in a house fire.

Yes if you have tons of reserves to cover yourself when the sh*t hits the fan, then sure....you can ride the storm when your are leveraged up the a$$ and it all tanks....but most people that are leveraged that high do it because they don't have the reserves sitting around.......they cant weather the storm for 2-5 years until they can break even again.....It surprised me how many people are back on the gravy train of leveraging the hell out of everything because it will never go south again....dangerous road.

I have done jobs much worse and more dangerous to save less than $1000.If I was in your area Tom I would gladly do the clean up for you for a grand.

It prevents wear in the heavy use part of the stairs and provides sure footing than uncovered stairs, which can be slick and dangerous.

Dangerous in the hands of inexperienced or incompetent, invaluable in the hands of a craftsman. 

Your danger in this is if you have/want to exit early.

No one wants a fancy gizmo in a dangerous neighborhood. 

Or your in an area were jobs leave and renters go with them.the other danger at some point is renters turn into owners.. that can have a impact.. although I look at our market here in the NW we have basically a 1% vacancy and a lot of that is because unlike most of the mid west deep south etc.. there are NO where NEAR the amount of SFR's that are rentals.. prices of SFR for a rental at best would break even but most would be severe negative cash flow so they are really only sold to homeowners and that does keep the neighborhoods in good shape.. the renters are in apartments..

Portfolio management wisdom says that diversifying your investments is always a good idea; having that much tied up in two homes might be a dangerous prospect.ConclusionAs you can see, a HELOC can be used to fund the down payment on a second home.