Deal Diary: How Lucy Hinds Turned One HELOC Into Three Rental Properties

Name Lucy Hinds Location Cincinnati, Ohio Occupation Real estate investor Assets Single-family rentals Investment strategy Long-term rentals Financing Conventional + HELOCs Lucy Hinds spent years living the Dave Ramsey playbook: no debt, aggressive saving, and total avoidance of leverage. Then she read Rich Dad Poor Dad, and everything she believed about money got rearranged. Lucy had built up significant equity in her primary home after the COVID pandemic price spike, and she realized she could use it. She opened a HELOC for $176,000 and bought three rental properties in 90 days, all sourced off the MLS and leased before her first mortgage payment was due. She started in July 2022. By September 2025, with just five properties, Lucy had retired from her W2 entirely. Here’s how she did it. You took out a $176,000 HELOC and bought three houses in 90 days. Walk us through those numbers. House one was $215,000, a three-bed, two-bath, with no basement. I put 25% down, about $54,000, using cash and HELOC funds. Rent came in at $2,150 against a $1,227 mortgage, so $923 a month in cash flow. House two was a stone’s throw away: $240,000, fully turnkey, and no work was needed on it. The mort...