BTW, There is nothing wrong with your mom buying herself something nice with a portion of the money if she does liquidate the house.  

When you do a cash out refinance its cash in hand (liquid reserve) so it can be used as an asset or for PITI reserves on the next purchase.The other downfall is if your credit score should drop for any reason which can happen even my accident or mistake the lender will close or reduce the Heloc credit limit.

I got frustrated with all of it so eventually liquidated the IRA. 

You need enough supply/demand to actually create liquidity.

The outstanding balance after 5 years (60 payments) will be approximately $364,814.The buyer would need to pay this amount at the end of the 5-year term, typically through refinancing or other financial arrangements.Using the Promissory Note for Financing in Florida:The promissory note valued at $400,000 from the sale can be used as collateral.Assuming you can get a loan of 75% of the note's value, you could potentially access $300,000 to assist in purchasing your new home in Florida.This detailed scenario underscores the potential benefits of seller financing, such as generating additional cash flow and converting equity into liquid capital for reinvestment.

Any vice, any backhanded thing you can think of, any trap, any costly mistake, I have seen it in product liquidation business.

To add to the great suggestions, if you're finding the L.A. market souring and you have any equity in those investments you've already established, it may be in your best interest to liquidate at some point to move your capital to a more profitable location or another type of investment.

You wanna stay liquid as much as possible.  

I have $20k liquid, a 740 credit score, and I’m ready to get my feet wet.

.: @Michael S.yep that's how I've thought about it so far tooindividual properties: high control, lower liquidity.