In the past I have always functioned in the class D space which meant its challenging at times to get very good tenants.

You're going to have a hard time finding renters that want half a house.

My wife and I are needing some advice on if we should get a HELOC or not at this time. 

I forget the exact amount of time. 

Fans tend to last a very long time.

However, if you have to pay them back in a short period of time and make high interest-only payments monthly, that might work against you.Have you tried asking for owner financing terms for the $230k?

While we are not truly concerned with making it someones dream home, we do want it to be smooth/safe with a modest level of eye appeal and without a massive time or money investment.

HELOC bank doesn't want their line used as a term loan on real estate they don't have collateralized and the bank that you apply for a loan for doesn't want your down payment to be borrowed.If you wanted to get the HELOC for home improvements then decide to draw on it for liquidity, had it sit in a bank account for a couple months and then applied for a MF loan and used it as the down payment, you'd have to answer no to the question, "is any part of the down payment borrowed".

What happens when the tenant has an employment disruption and doesn't pay rent?

I have a hard time justifying losing the interest rates you could get pre-2022 so I would lean away from selling.