Is a HELOC a good choice in todays....

[Dale Miller]

Is a HELOC a good choice in today's market with such few supply and greater demand.

the buyers with cash offers are usually the winning bids

Would probably give you a quicker transaction and more leverage when negotiating 

The money is available only when you need it.

It has great flexibility and light fees but can only do 20 year which makes payments higher and your cash flow per unit way lower. 

What are some opinions on using HELOC in Fall/Winter 2020?

What are the reasons over conventional loan?

[Jesse Hinaman]

@Dale Miller

Better option would be cash-out refi when you go into contract. You can write offer as all-cash and 15 day close.

I do this all the time with my clients that have large chunks of equity in other properties. Complete the refi in 15 days, rolling the proceeds over to purchase escrow. Fixed low rate and payment. Alternatively, you can have simultaneous purchase loan and refi, using cash proceeds as large down on purchase loan getting you phenomenal rate and no cash out of your pocket. Again, offering 15 day close with 10 loan contingency is as good as cash to most sellers.

HELOCs serve there purpose though. If having immediate use for the money, then conventional refi is better choice. If just wanting reserve account/line of credit to tap into just in case, then HELOC works. HELOCs right now are probably around 45-60 turn time, though.

Don't make the mistake of getting a HELOC on your property before doing refinance, since you will get higher rate pricing on the conventional refi with subordinate financing in place. Get the refi done, then apply for the HELOC for your safety line.