My price range is anything less than 135k with a stable job market.

If you're putting all of your retirement accounts into real estate, you are also not diversifying very much.  

Rates are the most stable under conforming lending.

I am very conservative in my investing and my goal is cash flow and retirement.

Housing prices have stayed relatively stable, but are now on the up tick.

Hello,I am currently 40 yrs old and want to retire by 45.  

This assumes that these are not retirement funds that you would incur penalties and taxes to access.HOWEVER, I would make a detailed budget and identify where I could squeeze extra money out of your cash flow from employment to take down this debt first.  

So, start with your friends and family, then move outside those circles seeking people who have retirement funds and are looking for better returns with more security and less volatility than the stock market.

My brother is a Union Electrician, working manager in California, at $55 an hour plus all benefits and he is ready to retire.

You're increasing your exposure to the real estate market by using a HELOC to finance an RE investment (beyond the exposure you have if you just have your primary residence + an RE investment) - if you're stable enough to add the risk, that's fine, but if a huge portion of your investable assets are exposed to the real estate market then that could be a massive issue in the case of a market downturn.