I am thinking about using a portion of my Traditional IRA for a down payment on an investment property outside my state.

(Use the J Scott book on rehabbing to get the full scope of what jobs can entail.)Talk to various hard money and traditional lenders to know what kind of debt is available to you.Pick a very specific geographic zone (no bigger than one zip code) and intricately learn this area. 

Then I sold my biggest building to an out of state investor. was going to do 10% seller financing but bank wanted to put restrictions on how he could pay me so I sold him that building (11 unit) traditional and seller financed (100%) a 2 unit to get him more units under control for less money.

@Steven Stepter be advised that it will be hard for you to acquire a traditional residential mortgage for a single family or other residential property under an LLC.

Non traditional boutique hotel, vacation apartments, and B&B.

I have enough money save to put down 20% on a 2nd property in my area, but my credit score is too low right now to get approve for a traditional loan.

Generally an investor is paid back when you refinance to traditional financing. 

Many buyers are unwilling to wait that long and so the pool of buyers is not as large for short sales as for traditional home sales. 

Healthcare is one of the major hurdles for people leaving their traditional employment to be a full time investor. 

One drawback to a HELOC is that if borrowing against a rental property or other investment properties, banks will be less likely to issue a loan, since such borrowers are more likely to default.If a HELOC won’t work for you, there are other alternatives such as a traditional home equity loan, a cash out refinance, or a personal loan.Leverage the equity in your property to increase its value, or fund more propertiesKey Points:1.