How do you finance your deals?

[Jordan L.]

Hi all,

I'm a relatively new investor looking to expand my portfolio exponentially. I'm 30 years old and I own 3 SFRs, one of which is my primary residence and two of which are rentals. I bought my primary residence at 23 and worked like a mad dog to pay it off. I then refinanced with a HELOC, and have used this cash to purchase and renovate my 2 current rentals. I'm currently in contract (yay!) on what would be my 4th SFR.

If I close on this property, I will have exhausted all of my available cash.  At first I thought I was going to invest conservatively--  pay off each property before purchasing another, so that financing never becomes an issue.  The older I get, the more I realize that I need to hurry up.  I want to enjoy my youth while I still have it.

Thus the question presents itself.  What do I do now?  

I am fortunate that I have a decent job and I am able to pay down mortgages relatively quickly. Also, my credit score is in the 800s and I have a very low DTI.

I still work like a dog.  I work in the high-end restaurant industry and I'm not sure how long I can keep up these 60 hour workweeks.  In my early to mid twenties I was working 80 hour weeks.  Irrelevant, but that was my strategy.

So... should I pay down my HELOC asap, use it to put 20% down on a conventional loan on each new property, then use the HELOC again for any necessary renovations to get my properties rent-ready? Does conventional financing significantly limit one's ability to buy distressed properties and fixers?

Should I just got for it and look for 100% financing on everything? 

Or... does something along the lines of a portfolio line of credit exist? I have a lot of equity in the 3 homes I own. I'm guessing a HELOC won't even touch something that isn't a primary residence. To complicate matters, my 3 properties are in 3 different states.

Thank in advance everyone.  I want to hear how you've done it!