I used a HELOC for the down payment and my cash for the rehab, although I could have done it all on the HELOC in hindsight.

Also HML is still a loan that needs to be approved, and it can still fall through for various reasons.Also if I used a line of credit, I would do it as a HELOC, so the rates would be at least half of what you mentioned.  15% is pretty high.  5-6% can certainly be achieved.

To get the most out of what I have would it be smarter to pay off the property and get a HELOC on the whole worth of the property or should I just keep the cash that I have  and get a HELOC on the current equity that I have on my property. 

Other funding options could include creating some kind of a partnership with the family where they let you handle the rental, and you pay them in monthly or quarterly installment payments (seller financing), hard money (doesn't sound like the smartest move for this property), or potentially taking out a HELOC on your current mortgage depending on how much equity you have in that property (but still probably not enough to buy out the family).

A HELOC can be used as a down payment, but not as reserves.

@Christopher Bell I'm a newb here but I've asked myself that question as well since if I were to sell my current home I'd net just over 200k after sales expenses.Since I'm not ready to move yet I've been in contact with lenders about refinance/HELOC options to access the cash.

We will than refi as a four bed two bath comp for added value for less than a $2000 cost to us.In the fall/winter months of 2020, we want to do kick off the "real," step-off into investing we plan to use the rental income to place the 20% down for a purchase and then use our HELOC from our primary to fund the rehab.

I don’t believe it’s too Ricky as long as you know what your exit strategy is and can afford the monthly payments for the HELOC.

Took out HELOC from my other investment property to purchase the deal How did you add value to the deal?

Took out HELOC from my other investment property to purchase the deal How did you add value to the deal?