Financing my first home investment

[Curtis Mooneyhan]

Just recently I discovered BP and it has given me motivation to start purchasing investment properties.  I have a plan, I understand the analysis needed for properties, and i'm ready to go.  However, I'm having a hard time figuring out the best route to take for financing.  My current primary residence has approximately 200k in equity so i've considered refinancing or a Heloc line of credit and using that money for purchases. However, i'd like to leave my primary residence out of the whole equation all together if possible.  Or at least find the right loan that protects my primary residence in case I buy a lemon.  I live in CA where home prices are very over inflated, thus the majority of my investments will have to be out of state.  So, my question is can financing be accomplished without leveraging my primary residence?  Is there a Heloc loan that is similar to a personal loan in that the loan is based off of credit score not collateral?  If I do use my homes equity as collateral at first can I refinance/apply for a different loan after my investment properties have gained equity, and clear my primary residence?  Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you in advance..

Curtis 

[Ray Johnson]

@Curtis Mooneyhan You can invest in other properties without having your primary residence at risk. If you have saved 20% Down or more all you're doing is purchasing a property with a conventional loan and securing the loan with the purchased property, there's no connection to your primary residence. If you decide to go the HELOC route I wouldn't say you're putting your primary residence at risk since you have such a large equity stake, you're simply tying the investments in a passive manner.