That’s a very loaded question, as it’s highly specific to your situation.

One key thing to note is your exit strategy - specifically, how do you plan on paying back the HELOC?

Hi Amanda, the best option for you will depend on your specific goals, preferences, and circumstances.

In these real estate deals you are dealing with 10s of thousands of dollars and when things go wrong on a thin budget is when you see dumpster fires and hear the cautionary tales.Most new investors concentrate solely on the down payment when in reality there's lots of costs: Closing costs, Holding Costs, Utilities Cost, you'll have to lay out money to the contractor for them to start the project, and there's taxes and insurance there's transfer tax title costs.More capital than you think is needed. 

He works specifically with small landlords in situations just like this.

However, keep in mind that there may be additional fees associated with multi-family properties, so make sure to factor these into your budget.

At this point, I think you need to make sure you are comfortable with the renovation budget before doing anything further.

Listed Rent would be between 3500-4200 per month depending on a local property management company strategy.We have assessed our budget and goals while in Europe and would not want to maintain a mortgage in USA (vacant) AND a rental payment in EU.further details: we are 3 years into the loan at 2.625% int, primary and only residence owned, house will need 2 new AC in next 2 years, water heater, and driveway repairs, would only rent with a property management company as we will NOT want to manage from abroad. 

There are probably very specific laws depending on the city that you are in.

The strategy I use depends on many factors such as the specific Market, cash available, needed financial return (in dollars), and whatever strategy works for that specific deal, at that time.