What we know is that the first was taken out in 2002, then the heloc second in 2005. 

Usually the bank doesn’t care what you do with HELOC funds.  

I got approved for a 2.99 intro HELOC then resets in a year.

I'm doing some shopping for a first-position HELOC on a rental property and would greatly appreciate any recommendations. 

Of course the terms/conditions will be worse.Anywho, for stand alone 2nd mortgages (HELOCs, lines of credit secured by real estate, etc), independent mortgage brokers aren't necessarily the right tool for that job.

I cannot get a REFI or HELOC on any of my current properties due to this issue.

I have 2 investment properties - Duplex (112k HELOC) and Condo (138k HELOC). 

I've also thought, what if I just pay down my 1st trust deed balance a bit to get under the DTI limit, and then open a HELOC w/ a 50% DTI limit to re-access the balance?

The rehab took WAY too long, but we were attempting to keep from using of our HELOC to cover the rehab, so we were putting about $2,000 a month of our income toward the repairs.

You could even utilize the equity in the property by refinancing or getting a HELOC to buy more investment properties if it is something you want to scale up.