My wife and moved out of our primary residence a little over a year ago.  We got it rent ready (new carpet, paint, replaced the last of the white appliances with stainless, LVP downstairs...).  After our first tenants moved out, we got feedback from prospective renters (through our property management company) that many of them were not interested since they wanted a more upgraded kitchen and bath (we have the original linoleum flooring and formica countertops in the kitchen and baths, and the cabinets need to be painted).

The house was built in 2002 and also has the original roof.  The A/C unit was replaced about 7-8 years ago.

Details:

Built: 2002

Square footage: 1725

Rooms: 4br/2.5ba

Original price: $145,000

Estimated current appraisal: 325,000

Rent: $1800

Current mortgage: $91,000

We have been doing quite a bit of research on beginning to invest (read Brandon Turner's book on creative financing, reading David Greene's BRRRR book, watching a ton of YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, etc.) using the BRRRR strategy and are about to get a HELOC on the above property to use to buy our first (and subsequent) properties. Before getting the house appraised for the loan it dawned on me that we are essentially in the middle of a BRRRR. The first house we bought almost 20 years ago, we have rehabbed it, rented it and now are about to refinance. Before refinancing, I think I have decided to complete some of the remaining rehab items (new roof, replace linoleum with tile, replace formica countertops with stone - probably quartz. It is my understanding that those upgrades will give me the highest returns so that the appraisal comes in higher, and it is obvious it would help the unit rent quicker between tenants and for a potentially higher monthly price.

Question 1) Is it wise to complete the above, final rehabs prior to getting refinancing

Question 2) Is a HELOC the way to go? I am drawn to it because the cost of HML and private lending will be higher and I do not have to worry about where funding will come from.

We are looking for our first property within reasonable driving distance of DFW.