2 Paid off homes with about 640k in Equity. Trying to put equity to work!

[Samuel Thomas]

Hello everyone! I'm new to bigger pockets and would like to introduce myself. My name is Samuel Thomas and I'm located in Lady Lake, FL, which is essentially The Villages (largest retirement community in the United States). I'm a Marine Corps veteran that got out in 2017. Was stuck in car sales for about 5-6 years and did pretty well while I was in it. I currently have my real estate license and am working for a brokerage as a listing agent. 

Long story short on how I found myself with 2 paid off homes. My wife was in a very bad car accident (she's made a 100% recovery) and we eventually got a large sum of money as a result of that horrific accident. I took 2 years off from work to enjoy life with my wife that I almost lost as well as my 2 kids and was able to do so because of the money we received from the accident. I'm currently kicking myself in the butt now because I'm currently trying to use either of my homes equity to start making other investments, but with me not working for 2 years it seems like most lenders wont lend to me for that reason. I have quite a bit in savings, stocks, and then my home equity. 

I use one of the properties as a rental that puts about $1800 in my pocket every month. I bought that property for 244k and now its worth around 310k. My home residence is also paid for and worth around 330k. If I'm unable to get a HELOC on either home then all of that equity is just sitting around not being put to use. Was wondering if anyone had any other route I could go as far as accessing some of my homes equity. I'm looking to either buy more rental properties around my area or exploring rent to retirement options where I could collect passive income while holding new properties. Pretty new to real estate investing and have been trying to get myself familiar with all things investing. I've gotten lucky with my past purchases but I don't wanna push my luck.

Anyone use rent to retirement? How was your experience? Are the numbers usually pretty accurate.

I know this post has quite a bit of information and I'm asking pretty broad questions, but any information would be helpful! 

[Jeff Welgan]

Hi Samuel, thank you for your service, I'm glad to hear your wife made a full recovery, and welcome to the BiggerPockets Community! :)

A first position HELOC or a DSCR first mortgage for your two properties, and DSCR financing for new purchases will most likely be your best options while you are not working.

You may qualify for conventional financing if you are planning on going back to work.

There is also an asset qualifier program that may be a good fit if you have documentable assets like retirement, savings, investments, etc.

Hope this helps and reach out if you would like to connect!