Sound strategy for a seasoned "newbie"?

[Josh Splawn]

Hello everybody! I am super excited because I am gearing up to purchase a second property. I purchased a SFR in Idaho 12 years ago and it has been rented out the entire time. I paid it off in July of this year, 18 years early! I threw a ton of my own hard earned cash at it because I am not a fan of debt and I wanted to get cash flow before I bought another one. And yes I realize this is not the greatest wealth building strategy. Not even close. But it was a goal I set for myself and I met the challenge so i'm happy. (Believe it or not I have been excited about real estate since the days of the late-night Tom Vu infomercial!) Now with my rental being in the money, I applied for a HELOC and am currently waiting for approval. I want to purchase a multi family in Oregon. I have been looking on Loopnet and Zillow but I understand that all the good deals have most likely been snatched up before they even make it to those sites. My plan is to find a decent deal, run the numbers through a fine tooth analysis to make sure it is worth making an offer on, put 20% down using the heloc (or find a way to fund the down without using the heloc or my own cash- I need all the advice I can get on this). I am thinking that I do not want the amount of the 20% down heloc repayment to exceed about 90% of the net income from my rental, so that essentially the one pays for the other and I am left with some reserve for maintenance etc., and rents from the multi family should service the primary mortgage. I still feel new at this and I am both excited and nervous. I'm looking for advice on any and all of this because I am sure there is a ton of stuff I have yet to learn! BTW, I LOVE Bigger Pockets! The podcast videos are inspiring and informative. I am sooo appreciative that such a valuable resource like BP is available and geared toward motivating people who are just starting out.