I can relate to starting out with limited capital since it’s one of the biggest hurdles when expanding into a new market.

Hey everyone,I’d love to get some experienced eyes on a strategy I’m testing.I’m actively flipping properties and recently had this idea to strengthen my offers and scale faster:Use my personal HELOC to fund a large (or 100%) Earnest Money Deposit to make my offer stand out.Once under contract, I’d line up a Hard Money Lender for the purchase and rehab.At closing, the HML funds would reimburse my HELOC, allowing me to reuse that liquidity for the next deal’s EMD.On paper, this seems like a way to:Present stronger offers and outcompete buyers.Recycle capital faster between multiple deals.Keep momentum going even with limited cash.But I’m curious about the real-world execution and pitfalls:Has anyone here actually done this (HELOC → EMD → HML → repay HELOC)?

There has been discussion for sometime about rules and regulations and our best guess is that by next summer (or sooner) some type of rules will exist to operate a nightly vacation rental within city limits. 

Banned outright in Portland proper, severely limited in Bend, Hood River and many coastal towns.

Less safe ------> more safeLLCs: None --> Mutliple homes in one LLC --> Individual LLC per homeInsurance: Low limit --> high limit --> umbrella coverage

A well-designed asset protection strategy limits liability, preserves wealth, and strengthens your defenses if challenges arise.To navigate these areas with confidence, build a team that includes a tax professional experienced in real estate and an asset protection attorney aligned with your long-term goals.

Clickbait headlines promising “easy refunds” or “loopholes everyone qualifies for” can lead people into real trouble with the IRS.Some things that are often misunderstood:STR (short-term rental) rules: People sometimes assume they can deduct every expense without limitation or ignore occupancy thresholds.

I used the COVID 401k withdrawal rules to pull money to finance our first property in my husband's hometown south of Fort Worth, TX in 2021.

The building and things afixed to it can not be bonus depreciated - they will be depreciated over the 27.5 years, so that limits the potential tax benefit. 

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