Strategy with HELOC for down payment

[Justin Mespelt]

TLDR: when using a primary residence HELOC as a down payment on an investment property, you are effectively financing the entire purchase. How can you ever cash flow at 100% DTV?

Longer story: my wife and I recently secured a HELOC with the goal of utilizing it to acquire rental properties. I realize the best method would be for us to BRRRR something, but that is daunting and the wife would prefer we get our first property the more traditional purchase way to prove out our methods and get our feet wet. We live in a high cost of living area, so we are forced to look out of state. The hang up comes when I run numbers on anything remotely close to rentable. I don't see how it's possible to cash flow on a property if you are borrowing the down payment.

I realize I’m just looking for affirmation that this is the reality. There just won’t be properties in any decent areas that can support this debt level, so the answer is to find something under market and rehab it. I know tons of people do exactly that. I’ve read the books, listened to the podcasts, dug through these forums, etc. It’s just so damn intimidating figuring out the first steps to doing this remote while working full time and raising kids. Etc. 

Am I missing something obvious here?

Feel free to tell me to just suck it up and start.  I probably need that :)