First time investor needing a gut check

[Amanda Smith]

Looking for someone to tell me “yes, that should work” or “no, bad idea and here’s why”:

My husband and I have been wanting to get into real estate, and are now ready to start moving forward. We've built up some equity in our Primary residence, and think we should tap into that through a HELOC to fund our first investment. Our strategy is to buy and hold either a single family or small multi family, But with the cost of home prices out here (we're in the north Austin area of Texas) we will likely only have the money for a down payment and renovations. We could then refinance to either pay back the HELOC, or fund another investment. So basically, is it ok to BRRRR a property with a HELOC from your primary with only using money for a down payment/reno?

[Theresa Harris]

I've never refinanced to pull out more money.  If you are starting, look for something that doesn't need a lot of work as major renos can go horribly wrong in terms of costs and time.  Start small, learn how things work and see if it works for you, and then move on for your second place.