Due to high demand, many investors in Austin are finding they need to adjust their approach a bit to make the numbers work.Rehab Budget: Ensure that bids are received from multiple contractors and that adequate reserves are made for cost overruns.

A Heloc can never be used as a PITI reserve, or an asset instead its a debt burden and an additional trade line on credit.A Heloc carries a higher risk when it comes to security meaning if you miss a payment even by mistake or for any reason, your scores drop, or your balances start to change your DTI or usage percentage.

I was looking to flip a few properties first in order to build up a little stack of reserves before starting to purchase for rentals.

How much do you want to stay in the bank when you purchase (consider you will need 15k still in there for reserves on any purchase)?

A hard money loan with 10-15% down may also allow you to keep the Atlanta property, if you have the reserves to do it.

It's the nature of investing in real estate. 

The fact of the matter is you mitigate that risk by doing what the folks above already told you....you bring money to the table and you have money in reserves if things go bad. 

I'm conservative in nature, but am looking for the push to jump in at some point.

Any amount over your adjusted basis in the property (initial cost minus depreciation) could be subject to capital gains tax unless you reinvest it strategically.2. 1033 Exchange (Involuntary Conversion): A 1033 exchange (involuntary conversion) is specifically designed for situations like fire, natural disasters, or eminent domain.

After reading this thread, a few comments come to mind over this common A or B decision.Without knowing how much it is (no need to say) makes my advice (or more accurately, my opinion) more general in nature but here it goes:Lending has very little to no tax shelters whereas buy and hold does.