(not so easy to do)"Cash is king, cash flow queen"****"Adding value" is certainly something I've been looking into.

Thanks @James Wise!

Check out: The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoodsand James Wise who made the map if you haven't gotten around to it already. 

But it is going to depend on the circumstances of the deal and your financial picture.Try James Dix at Amerifirst Home Mortgage.

@James Palassis...looks right to me, coming from a lender.

If you want some great guidance from someone that's IN Cleveland reach out to @James Wise      Your FIRST step though will be to get yourself pre-approved with a lender

Cash is king.

@John King - excellent point.

We would like to use the HELOC becuase all-cash offers are king in our market and we also realize that few if any banks and sellers are willing to work through the FHA 203K loan process (which would be necessary to fund the improvements on the sorts of BRRRRs which we are pursuing).Our dilemma is whether or not to max out the HELOC (ie: to take either the 80% option or the 90% option).

Eric James That’s a great strategy!