1st Steps to HELOC on Primary

[Mark S.]

Never in a million years would I think about "using my home as a credit card," as some like to say. I am seriously considering looking into getting a HELOC (or similar) on my primary residence in order to use the money for real estate investments. I think I could likely get around $50K or so (home worth about $195K, bought for $175K, owe about $125K). My question is where would you start? Mortgage servicer of current home (Wells Fargo)? Lender I use for new investment property purchases? What major factors would you be looking at on HELOC - start up costs, ongoing costs, fixed vs variable rate, other fees? Thanks in advance.