New Investor in the South East North Carolina, looking for people to chat with.

Fayetteville, North Carolina
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New Investor in the South East North Carolina, looking for people to chat with.

Brandon Watts
North Carolina. · Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 5 votes

Hi there, I'm just a married W2 employee looking for financial freedom. 

How does my approach sound and how can I improve it to grow rapidly?

My wife and I saved up enough money to purchase our first rental home for cash in October 2025, we spent $74,000 on a 2b 1ba pulling in $1150 a month. It appraised ~$107,000 so we opened a HELoC on the property to use torwards future properties or repairs. Skip to May of 2026 we closed on a $114,900 mortgage for a duplex property, using the previously mentioned HELoC to fund the 25% down. This property values at ~$156,000 prior to replacing cast iron plumbing and adding mini split HVAC, and pulls in $1900 a month. I have a loan on the remaining ~84k dollars, and a $42k dollar balance on the HELoC.


Is this a solid approach torwards entering the real estate market?

Is it worth getting a realtors license? 

Are using HELoCs to make these Purchases effective? 

What steps can I take to continue growing rapidly?

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  • Arman AhmedPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 904 votes
    1mo
    Quote from @Brandon Watts:

    Hi there, I'm just a married W2 employee looking for financial freedom. 

    How does my approach sound and how can I improve it to grow rapidly?

    My wife and I saved up enough money to purchase our first rental home for cash in October 2025, we spent $74,000 on a 2b 1ba pulling in $1150 a month. It appraised ~$107,000 so we opened a HELoC on the property to use torwards future properties or repairs. Skip to May of 2026 we closed on a $114,900 mortgage for a duplex property, using the previously mentioned HELoC to fund the 25% down. This property values at ~$156,000 prior to replacing cast iron plumbing and adding mini split HVAC, and pulls in $1900 a month. I have a loan on the remaining ~84k dollars, and a $42k dollar balance on the HELoC.


    Is this a solid approach torwards entering the real estate market?

    Is it worth getting a realtors license? 

    Are using HELoCs to make these Purchases effective? 

    What steps can I take to continue growing rapidly?


    Honestly, you're off to a solid start. You've already shown you can find a property, create equity, and use that equity to move into the next deal, which is the basic idea behind scaling. I'd just be careful about moving too fast with the HELOC and make sure each deal still has plenty of cash flow and reserves after debt service, repairs, and vacancies. Once you've got that system dialed in locally, you could also look at Midwest markets for lower-cost multifamily opportunities and diversify without needing to reinvent your strategy.

    [email protected]614-418-6081
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  • Chris Platt
    Investor · Wichita, KS · Member since 2024 · 25 posts · 7 votes
    1mo

    Hi Brandon - From another newer investor looking to scale from one property to multiple, your strategy closely resembles mine, so I'm curious how your experience scaling this way goes. My first property was my personal residence that I ended up taking out a HELOC to make my repairs and get ready to rent. I've been weighing how much I should rely on that HELOC vs saving up capital for the next property. The HELOC was definitely helpful in making my repairs though. It would be great to connect and talk more about your investing strategy.

    0Reply
    • Brandon Watts
      OP
      North Carolina. · Member since 2026 · 4 posts · 5 votes
      1mo

      @Chris Platt hey there, I'd love to chat with you about how my process has been so far. I'm still not 100% sure if it's the most efficient way, But I'll definitely be happy to discuss it through DM. 

      0Reply
  • Jenna Fawley
    Lender · Pickerington, OH · Member since 2026 · 49 posts · 39 votes
    1mo

    You’re off to a really good start. Buying with equity already built in and then using that equity to help fund the next deal is exactly how a lot of investors start scaling.

    I’d just be careful not to get too aggressive with the HELOC. It’s a useful tool, but once you have the HELOC payment plus mortgages, you want to make sure the properties are still cash flowing well and you have some reserves.

    You may also want to look at DSCR loans as you keep growing. They can be a good fit for investors because the property’s rental income matters more than your W2 income.

    I work with a lot of investment property financing and would be happy to chat through what you’re doing now and what might make sense for your next few deals.

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  • Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
    CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    1mo

    Brandon, you and your wife have already done something many new investors struggle with: you bought the first property, created equity, and used that equity to move into the second deal.

    I'd just be careful about making the HELOC the default funding source for every future purchase. The first property went from debt-free to carrying roughly $42K on the HELOC, while the duplex has its own mortgage. Before adding property #3, I'd make sure both rentals are producing enough cash flow after taxes, insurance, vacancy, repairs, CapEx, and management to comfortably support the added leverage.

    On the HELOC specifically, keep very clean records of where every dollar went. The tax treatment of the interest follows how the borrowed money is used. Interest tied to rental activity may generally be deductible as a rental expense, while HELOC proceeds used for personal expenses generally do not create the same deduction.

    Since these are long-term rentals, I’d also evaluate cost segregation on both properties. It may accelerate depreciation and improve the early-year after-tax return, but the bigger question for two W-2 earners is whether you can actually use the resulting rental losses. Rental losses are generally passive unless an exception applies, so passive-loss limitations and your participation need to be considered before assuming cost seg automatically reduces your W-2 taxes.

    I wouldn’t get a real estate license solely to grow faster either. Your time may be better spent improving your underwriting, building a reliable team, and making sure each property strengthens the portfolio before leveraging into the next one.

    Happy to connect!

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