HELOC to Get a Conventional Loan

[Joe Bostick]

Hello! I'm looking to buy a SFH in NY within the next couple months. I plan to live in the house for 2 years before eventually renting it out. I can easily set aside 10k to use towards a down payment. Houses that I'm looking at in NY are around $350k.

I have a rental house in Texas with about 56k in equity that I bought using a VA loan. I have a rental house in Virginia that has about 18k in equity (also bought with a VA loan).

This will be the first time I buy a house without a VA loan and I just wanted to make a good decision on financing. I've been reading quite a few articles on HELOC and home equity loans and from what I understand is that HELOCs and home equity loans may be a good option over FHA loans because I'll avoid having to pay PMI. It doesn't look like I'll be able to make a 20% down payment unless I use a HELOC or home equity loan.

Would it be wise to use a HELOC to augment the $10k I currently have to get to the 20% down payment required for a conventional loan? Any suggestions on how to purchase a $350k house for someone in my situation?