Using a third party HELOC for a down payment?

[Jordan Wood]

I know this has been discussed time and time again in terms of using your own primary residence HELOC to finance the down payment on an investment property... but what if the HELOC belongs to someone else? Family member, private lender, etc. Would that line of credit show up in my name or theirs?

There are a few posts about this strategy, but there are lots of unanswered questions about the tax implications of using "gifted/borrowed" money to finance an investment property. 

Some of the suggestions are to have the funds sent to an LLC before purchasing a property, but it is my understanding that a HELOC is like a revolving credit card account, access to a credit line to use as needed. In other words, it's not an actual check being deposited into my checking account (or to an LLC), so I'm not sure I understand these "gifting" questions. Can someone help clear this up for me?