Cash or Credit? Closing on my first deal

[Patrick Torres]

I am closing on a fourplex next week, this will be my first investment property. I could get away with a few thousand dollars in rehab, but I plan on rehabbing one of the units immediately while it's vacant. I purchased it with a portfolio loan from a traditional lender that required 20% down, unless some major unexpected repair is needed in the next 6 months to a year, I should be able to get a large portion of that down payment back when I refinance. The Dave Ramsey in me is telling me to pay for everything with cash including the down payment and the rehab, the Robert Kiyosaki in me is telling me to use an interest only HELOC that I have to pay for the for the rehab, and maybe even a part of the down payment just to preserve my cash.

Question is, when using cash vs a HELOC in this scenario does it really matter? If another investment comes along, I could just write myself a check for the additional cash I would need for that one right and I wouldn't have to incur unnecessary holding costs in the interim with the HELOC. I can't help but feel like there is something I am missing and want to hear from any experienced investors that may have an opinion on why it would be more advantageous to make a draw and pay it down as opposed to doing the whole thing with cash.