Interest on a HELOC is adjustable, if interest rates rise you are screwed.For you folks that weren't in real estate in 2003-2006 and when the market started collapsing in 2007.

I would lean towards a down payment so you add more doors. 

Across ten doors I've had three turnovers in five years and one of the ladies that moved out (she wanted a larger house) still calls me occasionally to see if I have something available again. 

.: I wanted to get involved in land investing and made a post about it during the summer and have continued to look at it until now.I was questioning if I should trust a land guru in my area so I asked about it and got some feedback.So then I have searched for land investing education programs and a name was at the top on google and I saw he had a lot of information out there.I did research on him and watched a lot of his videos and it all sounded good but I heard him talk about how he now owns over 1000 doors in multi family, so I started thinking about it. 

First you need to learn to separate the following:Maintenance: usually things related to wear & tear or tenant damage.Repairs: usually broken items like doors & windows, caused by tenant or nature.Capital Improvements: usually expensive things that wear out: hot water tanks, furnaces, roofs, etc.The seller is correct that Repairs & Capital Improvement items should not be a factor for awhile (ALWAYS get your own inspection to confirm).

While your properties hold significant equity, adding debt from HELOCs or a DSCR loan could strain your finances if STR performance fluctuates or costs rise.

Currently, I own 26 doors and run a property management company that oversees 350+ units.

I own my house outright. I have approx $10m in retirement accounts. The target property is around $1.5m. What’s the best strategy to buy and finance?

It is VERY important for all of us including BP to constantly raise the bar in our industry and stand guard at the door of our wallets so we all can literally have bigger pockets!

Quote from @Kevin Zmick:One of the advices I read above was to be a bit less discerning perhaps and get someone in the door for 6 months at a reduced rate, and then find my golden tenant in the summer.