Is this a good plan for a newbie?

[Lilah Johnson]

Hello all. I'd appreciate some guidance or validation in my plan below. I am a first-time investor that has been researching my butt off for the past few months and am very appreciative of this forum. So much information and resources! 

I'm pulling the trigger and getting started in real estate investing after reading all that I can get my hands on and educating myself. 

I have saved about 40-50K to use as a downpayment on, hopefully, two three-unit or quadriplexes in the Ohio area. These would be buy and hold. 

I'm currently in the process of taking out a Heloc on my primary residence of up to 100K that I just want to have at my disposal until I have saved enough cashflow from those properties to support any repairs, vacancies, etc. 

I then plan to reach out to banks in the Ohio area to get preapproved for a mortgage so I can have that on hand. 

Afterwards, I will reach out to agents and property managers in the area to find properties. 

Am I on the right track? Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. 

[Justin Phillips]

@Lilah Johnson Sounds like a good plan to me! 
I always recommend investors look at more specialized 1st position Helocs that are tied to zero balance sweep accounts. Basically it allows all of your normal banking deposits/idle funds to be swept directly towards your remaining balance. It allows you to pay down your debt the same way large corporations do, while retaining access to every dollar. 
My wife and I ReFi'd into one based on these inflated values, so we're ready for when the market turns. 
That would be my other big piece of advice, stay strict on your deal criteria when hunting. With the market hot, you'll want to make extra sure you're running conservative numbers. 
You're in the perfect place for crowd sourced Real Estate Investing Wisdom! Very best of luck!