HELOC Advice and Suggestions

[Christopher Giannino]

I'm looking for some advice from the experts here on BP regarding the best time to get a HELOC. I bought my first property/future investment back in September. I bought it with the intentions to live in for a year and then transition it into a rental property. Since this was my intentions from the get-go, I made sure that all the numbers worked from an investment standpoint. When I closed on the property back in Sept, I had a pleasant surprise that it appraised for $30k higher then what I bought it for. With that being said, I want to access that equity and take out a HELOC so I can funnel it into future deals. My question is when would be the best time to obtain a HELOC given the fact I want to purchase another property within the year. My credit has taken a hit (still above the 700 range) from the new mortgage that I obtained and since I want to buy my next investment within 2018, I want to be more strategic with things. Should I look to get the HELOC now and take another hit on my credit score with the hopes that by mid summer my credit will be where it is now or slightly higher? Should I look to purchase my next property and then get a HELOC on this property? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance!!