HELOC on primary residence to finance first purchase. Thoughts?

[Daniel Burrows]

I'm considering taking out a HELOC on my primary residence to purchase my very first rental property. My house is completely paid off and I have $40,000 set aside for a down payment. My agent highly recommended taking out a HELOC since he believes a cash purchase would make me a much stronger buyer and give me more leverage for negotiating, etc. What are the pros and cons to doing this?

[Shawn Mcenteer]

@Daniel Burrows I would life more information before giving input...  What type of property are you looking to invest in?  What's the condition of the properties you are looing at, total gut or turnkey? What strategy or you shooting for?  At the end of the day cash offers tend to have the most power behind them but I am getting offers accepted with financed deals in  a very competitive market.