Capital-raising decision for BRRRR

[Darryl Schott]

Howdy. I am a new member to BP, originally from San Antonio, TX currently living in New Braunfels, TX, and just starting out in REI. I've read to the guide to BRRRR from David Greene and I'm anxious to start assembling a team. I have a question that's been gnawing at me:

1.  My primary residence will be paid off in March 2023 since I've been throwing all extra income and non-emergency savings at the house.  We will be 100% debt free.  Because of this, I have no liquid capital to start BRRRR.  I can either save ~75k in the next calendar year (presumably 50k for down payment, 25k for rehab) and wait a year before beginning, or, is it possible (and wise) to borrow against my primary residence to get started now and keep the momentum going.  I'm concerned about losing momentum of trying a 90 day challenge to buy my first property.  What are your thoughts on managing the finances given this situation?

I have no network yet in the San Antonio/Austin metro (if we stay local) or the Indianapolis, IN metro (if we go out of state), but my wife and I are very interested in building a significant real estate portfolio for the next 20+ years.  I'm already on the path with self-education, but I'm eager to connect with lenders, property managers, contractors, and agents who have a heart of a teacher.  If that's you, let's talk!  I want to add value to your businesses by learning and DOING my part as well as I possibly can as the portfolio grows.



  

[Darryl Schott]

@Nathan Grabau Excellent point on the HELOC, I didn't realize the bank can stop new withdrawals anytime.

@Nathan Gesner I appreciate your opinion as well on this, thanks! I hadn't considered the rate differences yet between HELOC and cash-out refi as I'm still on the learning curve.

@Robin Simon I'm already so close to paid off (2 months) and the interest rate is below 3%.  I tend to agree that just saving money for down payment, while slower, is the best COA.  It also means my investing will have nothing to do with my primary residence and lowering my risk significantly. 
I had been paying it off following Dave Ramsey's baby steps (#6) after maxing out other investing (roth 401k, college savings) and was seriously considering moving the family to Hawaii in the next 2-3 years, however, we officially changed direction and now are staying in Texas and starting REI.