How long do HELOC funds need to "age" before using for investment

[Mike Malfitani]

Hi all!

This is my first thread on BP as I've been spending the majority of my time researching and reading on the forums, however I do have 1 quick question i was hoping you all could help me with.

I intend to use a HELOC on my primary residence for my first rental purchase and through my research i've learned that banks like to see funds in a bank account for a certain period of time, before they are willing to accept those funds as a viable down payment for a loan on an investment property.

This is interesting to me, because the obvious goal with a HELOC is not to use those funds until the last minute, since you are paying interest on them. However, if a bank states they'd like to see funds in a bank account for at least 2-3 months, before they are willing to accept those funds as a down payment, it doesnt leave many options.

Example: I need 20k down to purchase my first investment property and i have a HELOC for 100k. If i just pay myself from that HELOC into a bank account, how long do the funds need to sit there before the bank is willing to accept them as a viable down payment for the investment property?

Thanks everyone!