Using Home Equity Line for Down Payment-I need some advice!

[Jordan Coates]

My wife and I are new investors with one single family rental in our "portfolio".  In my area there are a lot of $80,000 or so homes that can be bought to rent at $800-$900 per month.  The cash flow on these deals (when turned into rentals) is pretty good ($300-$400) per month and I'd buy them all if I could.

I just don't have the money for another down payment at the moment. Is it wise to use my home equity line of credit for down payments on these houses? I owe about $80,000 on my home which is worth about $180,000. My home equity line is about $60,000 with interest-only payments set up for 15 years (same term as my mortgage). The APR is 2.79% until March 2018 and then it will go to 4% or so.

We should be able to qualify for a couple more mortgages based on our income so let's assume that getting approved for the mortgages won't be an issue.

Am I being crazy to think about paying interest only payments on my HELOC to take advantage of these deals?

Thanks for the help