Hi Stacie, Have you looked inot DSCR loans?

Hi Henry,I'm a licensed loan officer in Georgia, if you need help with anything up that alley, let me know! 

Having owned property in rockford its not a great appreciation area so getting a HELOC will probably take 5-10 years based on loan pay down and maybe some slight appreciation.

I'd also be careful when using a heloc for the down payment and getting a loan on top of it due to the zero equity situation -Be safe!!

You just can't beat the financing available, the rate is good but the LTV (96.5% on FHA loans) is unbeatable.

That is important when considering a conventional conforming loan.

To maximize your investment, use financing options like FHA or conventional loans, analyze deals based on cash flow and cap rates, and network with local investors through REI meetups and BiggerPockets.Good luck!

They'll loan on a rental portfolio. 

Understand what you are investing in....is it a secured loan, unsecured loan, membership interest in an entity that deploys capital like a feeder fund or direct membership interest in an entity that is the deed holder? 

Yeah, I just did a loan for an investor in the North Tahoe area and the insurance was wild, a lot of that is only going to qualify for Cal FAIR unfortunately due to wildfire risk.