advice on how to start investing

[Alex Boursiquot]

Hi,

I have been following this forum for over a year now. This is the best place to find valuable education regarding Real estate. I have saved 50 K cash and my house is paid off and currently worth 250 k. I am eager to start flipping. My plan is to take a HELOC and purchase a property to flip. However, I am still pondering this decision as I am a safe person. I am really scared of debt .

Would it be better to get a hard money loan or a get a HELOC for 10 to 15 years so I can start investing ? I am a registered and I make over 90K a year but It would take me roughly 2 years to save 50 more K.

[Ned Carey]

@Alex Boursiquot If i were in your position I would get a HELOC and pay it off immediately after selling the property that I used the money for. Then repeat. You seem to be frugal and manage your money well so I think you will do fine.

That said, You need to understand that real estate is risky - very risky. A big advantage of real estate is your risk drops quickly as your knowledge increases. 

Since you say you are "really scared of debt" make sure you only use the debt to buy assets that can be sold to pay off the debt. Make sure the value of the assets is always easily worth more than you can sell the asset for quickly. The lower the Loan to Value (LTV) the lower your risk is.