Approved HELOC.... Now What?

[Chad Hutchens]

BP Team - 

My Wife and I are new to the RE investing market and have been doing our research, reading articles, analyzing deals, etc. Figured there would be great success stories and the unfortunate fails that we could learn from within this community, so we appreciate any insight and feedback. Long story short, we have our primary home and tapped into the equity through a HELOC... Figured we might as well put the equity to work. Out initial thoughts are to buy properties for long term rentals and potentially short terms (Air BNB's), I am not looking to flip at the moment, looking to start a long term passive income.

After reading a few articles/threads, It seems like the idea is to find a good deal and then use the HELOC for the DP of 20-25% and then update a few items (if needed) to force appreciation and then cash out refi and pay off the original HELOC on our primary.... then rinse and repeat. Does anyone ever just pay in full for a rent ready with their HELOC and then mortgage the rental property with a cash out refi and pay off the original HELOC depending on appraisal? Maybe people pay in full as a negotiation tactic on a deal they find to lower the purchase price. (Maybe not in this current market)....

I know there are a good amount of variables that go into every forum thread/post, but would love some feedback or give insight on success stories they had using a HELOC.

Thanks and looking forward to the dialog! 

Chad