Lets say I want to buy a new home first and then sell my house after I move. I don't have the 20% down payment in cash, but I definitely have the equity in my current home. I've got a bunch of investments at Interactive Brokers.
Please let me know if my understanding is correct:
If I just withdraw the down payment from my account (around 2.6% today), then I can't deduct his as an investment expense because buying a second house is not considered an investment.
If I sell securities in the amount of 20% and withdraw the proceeds, I can then buy back the same securities on margin and this interest would be considered a deductible investment expense. If the securities are at a loss, I might have to consider wash sale rules for capital gains purposes, but otherwise this would work, yes?