First Rental Property

[Ryan S.]

Hello,

I am a new investor in the state of Washington.

A co investor and I have purchased 2 houses together and we each live in one, renting out rooms. Turns out we've been house hacking and didn't even know it! He is not interested in buying more properties but I want to move forward with real estate investing on my own. We have gained over 100k in equity mostly due to appreciation in the last 2-3 years. I'm interested in getting into a BRRR SFH.

So my question is, can I use a HELOC for a down payment on another house? If so, is this a preferred method?

Also, when I purchased this home I was the owner/occupier for the first year so I got a better interest rate. So it got me thinking, would it be ideal to rent out my current residence and move into the new house I'm looking to rehab to get that same benefit? Are there any other benefits of this process?

Thanks,

Ryan