Secured by the home itself, a HELOC offers a way to use the equity stored in the home at a lower interest rate than many other types of loans.HELOCs can be used for everything from home improvement projects to large purchases, educational expenses, or even debt consolidation/refinancing.

This site has been invaluable to my real estate education, and I'd like to take it to the next level with networking here as we get our feet wet in investing. 

Hi Ejay,It seems like we're on the same journey!

I’m excited for your new journey :)  Looking forward to learn from you and other military investors in the future. 

I am a huge advocate for constantly educating myself through books, videos, seminars, and programs not just for real estate but for personal development and sell for film.

If the goal is to save the princess, would you set off on your journey wearing flip flops and a t-shirt and plié straight through to the dragons lair and knock on the door or would you let Princess Kashmir sleep a little longer while you saved up for some armour and a sword?

The best thing to do, is get educated enough to explain to private lenders how you will protect their investment with you.

After crunching all of the numbers I should be cash flowing pretty well with this purchase, and it's not a bad first property to start my investing journey. 

If you choose to manage the home yourself, make sure and educate yourself so you are prepared to handle your investment and tenants in the situations listed above.

Also, for the purpose of general education, would you mind sharing how you got into this situation?