Interestingly, one aspect that no one has brought up is how often is your PM staff in the unit already for other maintenance issues?

I am about to start The 4 disciplines of execution after listening to the BP podcast with the author.

I suggest finding numerous SFH and  investment properties (out of state) and calculating your ROI, find out if its really worth your wild to sink 20k in a property that might cashflow 200/month, find which area might appreciate faster..and execute!

You should probably have the completed form either prepared or at least reviewed by a Massachusetts attorney before you execute (sign) it.https://judicialtitle.com/pdf/AssignmentContractPurchaseRealEstate.pdf

This might be important if you're looking to manage your DTI or debt to income so you can keep your purchasing power open for any deals coming to your desk in the future.You're only limited to 50k or 50% whichever is lower with your 401k anyway.The HELOC on the other hand will cause your monthly payment whether interest only or principal & interest to go up which will increase your DTI and leave less room for future qualification depending on the deals you purchase with these funds.From a credit perspective, having the HELOC might be better because now you have an additional trade line reporting good payment ratings to the credit bureaus assuming you pay your bills on time.Ultimately, its good to use a fine balance of all sources based on your risk preferences, speed of execution or purchase, financial position today, and your deals you have access to to get this capital to work on your behalf.Hope that helps.

Demonstrate the ability to execute then think about raising money.

Put it in a savings account, educate yourself, come up with a plan and execute. 

Am I comfortable with my ability to execute the rehab and can I minimize surprises post purchase when I walk through the home

One, this means I have to wait an extra day or few, and because it’s a 3rd party warehouse/delivery company, if there are problems, the HD staff/managers can’t really help.

We’re focused on our criteria and transaction execution that simplifies the efforts and processes to generate us cash flow.