Once the rental home is sold, my half of the proceeds will be roughly $113,000 (this is after closing costs and taxes and is an estimation based on the current market value). 

Real Estate is an investment.

Awaiting an answer from my banker on what their current rate is on a HELOC (smaller local bank that tends to be investor friendly).. curious what thoughts are on HELOCs in general right now for such things?  

Build a big enough audience and you will have plenty of people that view you as an expert and will want to invest with you.

I have heard Boise was cracking down on permitting, so make sure you can meet all licensing requirements and that you are in an area zoned for this type of use. 

Used an agent through the Agent Finder function on BP How did you finance this deal?

Found someone selling a 4 acre lot with an old farmhouse.

Tough, water tight, easy to stack...Seems like an ideal way to create a neat place.

Back in 2020, BiggerPockets also did an analysis with similar results.

Do you want to bring in an equity partner to fund the house build to rent out and you retain some equity?