How do I get money for down payments?

[Christina Meletis]

I'm in the process of finalizing a HELOC on my home that I am going to use for down payments and rehabs and holding costs on a BRRRR with the idea of refinancing and pulling my money back out of the deal. I have some cash but not enough to put down on a $200,000 to $300,000 property in my area...and even if I did, my money would be tied up in the deal handicapping me to buy another deal.

I've heard stories of people acquiring rental properties starting in their early 20's. I would bet that most of them didn't just have $50,000 or 100,000 sitting around. So what did they do to buy their first property...and then how did they buy their second and third in a relatively short period of time?

Can someone clear up this down payment mystery? How do you keep from running out of cash? How do you invest when you don't have a lot of cash? I've been watching youtube videos and reading articles, forum posts, and books to try to figure this out. I keep hearing that if I find a great deal, it shouldn't be hard to find the money. I don't know anyone I would feel comfortable asking for a loan for downpayment money even if I offered them a good interest rate and a piece of the deal...and even if I did, the idea of telling someone who just lent me 10's of thousands of dollars that the deal failed and we lost all or most of our investment makes me sick to my stomach.

Please help :-)