I have a contrary play. 

There's a high chance that you are feeling FOMO from the returns in public markets, sell your houses for a loss, pile into stocks, and then see mediocre performance while real estate heads back higher again.I see this, and similar actions, play out over and over.Personally, I'd stick with the real estate rather than selling it.

This campus hosts a large Magnolia home goods store, high end furniture store, cupcake bakery, coffee shop, gardening shop, live music concert venue, large grass area with toys and balls for kids to play with, an open plaza with eight food trucks, a small baseball field (that Babe Ruth once played on and families can now play on for fun), a restored historic chapel (the oldest chapel in Central Texas), and six boutique shops with men, women, and children's products.

Plus it is pretty durable as well.Avoids the seams like LVP and won't be as labor intensive to install.

Quick cash on a flip is going to 1. give you more cash to play with vs HELOC interest rates 2. give you an opportunity to 1031 exchange into your next investment. 

Check out this article that sheds light on how they come into play with this strategy.

Location plays a big factor into this question. 

The idea is if banks were doing all the owner occ loans the cost to the buyer would go down by 5k to 15k per transaction depending on the price of the home  Plus approvals would happen faster and there would not be this intense need to solve the underwriters every little crazy question  I am sure you have run into this over the years..

Preference is cash-flow, but open to appreciation/equity plays as well.

Your number two is a bit different than what to expect on a short-term rental play.