I’m about to launch a fund and start building new builds.

My wife not comfortable putting our house as equity, therefore we are utilizing other options to fund investment properties. 

Any other expenses are using up funds that would otherwise be sitting in your checking account to make a mortgage payment with.

After 45 + years as a real estate investor, broker, lender, fund manager and syndicator, I’ve become aware that the “dream” of many investors and investor “hopefuls” is to be able to generate enough cash flow to live off their real estate holdings and accumulate enough wealth to make “work” optional.

.): ~$1600Savings available: ~15-20% of the purchase priceCash to close: ~$34kRehab estimate: ~$34kRemaining reserves: ~$20-25kTo fully fund the rehab, I’d need to come up with an additional ~$15k in the short term, which I anticipate paying back quickly once the rental portion is generating income.

There is a catch - the couple wants to 1031 the funds into their sons next larger project which is TBD.

We all invest in real estate in order to make money, and keep in mind that someone who can only afford to live in a mobile home and seller-finance to buy the land is probably tight on funds. 

As apples to an IRA Hope that makes sense .

Both properties have a substantial amount of equity that’s essentially sitting idle.Would it be a good idea to tap into this equity (through a HELOC, cash-out refinance, etc.) to fund future fix-and-flip projects or purchase additional rental properties?

I have used them to fund a flip and I would absolutely not use them again.