Best Way To Start With Finances

[Justin Frye]

Hello everyone, hoping you more experienced investors can give me your input on beginning finances. First off I have done zero deals as far as investing goes but my wife and I are currently planning and preparing to get started.

We currently have our personal residence that has not yet been renovated. We have around 40k equity in it now and feel that if we were to sink about 20k in it, it would appraise at around 90-100k in equity.

My question is should we aggressively save and use our money for down payments and hope for conventional mortgages to come through? My thoughts are to throw 20k in our personal residence and then get a HELOC on it and then BRRRR our way in to the buy and hold strategy. Possibly use the HELOC to do a few flips in the beginning to have liquid capital plus the HELOC.

After this last bill is paid for we will be able to save at minimum $3500 a month.

I feel that the HELOC will get us more funds at a faster rate. I also feel that getting the HELOC at current prices would be more beneficial than during a possible upcoming downturn. Am I thinking correctly in assuming this?

Sorry for throwing so much at all of you in one post. I will be eagerly awaiting your answers! Thank you in advance.