@Rio Peterson I am glad you reconsidered not working with this gentleman and had the smarts to ask questions before entering into this partnership.

Is it smart to find an agent for your first deal or better to find it yourself?

There is a wide spectrum when it comes to agents and many are constantly busy so you are smart to show up prepared.If I were you I would try to narrow down what type of investor you want to focus on and try to stick with it.

This is a fantastic place to learn and take in the knowledge from a ton of very smart people!

I'm a newbie and the other day I was on the phone with a mortgage broker and when I asked him about rehabbing and refinancing he told me it wasn't a smart move.

Your return on home equity is always zero, so pulling it out and making it work for you to generate passive cash flow in excess of what the extra payments cost you, is always a smart thing to do, as long as you don't over leverage in which it sounds like you are avoiding here either way.What sort of investment are you going to do?

I joined up purely it off curiosity and optimism, I've heard of smart contracts lightly before.

There are a number of advantages: much lower loan fees, you don't pay any interest until you actually use the money, when you pay back the HELOC, it's available to use again on another deal.Yes, the interest rate is a little higher than a refi and terms are usually shorter, but if you use it as smart, short-term debt it can be a great strategy.Use the HELOC to purchase the investment in cash, giving your offer a competitive advantage.Renovate / update the investment property as necessary.Put long-term debt on the investment property and pay back all, or most, of the HELOC.Rinse and Repeat.This is basically a modified BRRRR method.

Same with the low voltage communications/ smart homes.

In the long run, it may even be a smart investment to split the water meters - one less utility for you to pay, and it makes the property more attractive to investors when you exit.