All Forum Posts by: Albert Blair

I acquire using cash and my HELOC, mostly, sometimes hard money, and rarely with long term financing up front. And then I refi into a portfolio or commercial loan after rehab.

People are always asking if they should buy rental property using their HELOC for the down payment or entire purchase, and is it "safe" to use the equity in their home to buy investment property.

HELOCs are such a great tool for investors to get started, and keep going. Few people have 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars sitting around doing nothing. Most of their savings is going to be locked up and inaccessible in places like a 401k savings plan. But lots of investors can start with the equity in their house. It is super easy to unlock and if you are not using it, it isn't sitting around doing nothing, it stays in your house and you pay no interest. It is the swiss army knife of investing, there when you need it for strong cash offers, repairs, rehab, etc, and sitting quietly in your pocket when not in use.