Should I cash out refi my primary res. to begin RE investing?

[John M Arnoldsen]

I am a beginner and have nothing invested in real estate. 

BACKGROUND INFO:

-38 year old police officer in Utah. Married with 6 minor children. 

-Base salary: $83,200 per year, $90,000+ when including overtime. No debt other than my mortgage.

-$200,000 retirement savings in 457, 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA accounts. Investing approach is broad-base U.S. stock index funds. I'm saving about 20% of my yearly income across these accounts but have only been at that rate for about two years.

-8 years from eligibility to retire with what I estimate to be $50,000/yr pension.

-$13,600 in a taxable brokerage account invested in VTSAX. This is my real estate investing nest egg and represents about a year's worth of savings. This is aside from my 20% toward retirement accounts and is where I put any money leftover after retirement saving and living expenses.

My background in understanding personal finance started with Dave Ramsey, then the ChooseFI podcast, books like The Millionaire Next Door, The Automatic Millionaire, Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Richest Man in Babylon, and other similar books and podcasts. I'm interested in Real Estate being my next significant move toward building wealth.

CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCE:

I just locked in a 1.99% interest rate on a 15 year refinance on my primary residence with Quicken/Rocket Mortgage. 

My current mortgage is a 30 year term at 3.25% rate paying $1,060 per month including escrow. Original loan was around $191,000.

Home value I estimate to be $350,000, I currently owe $161,000.

My initial intention was to refinance for only the amount owed + closing costs which would give me a new loan of around $168,000. My monthly mortgage payment including extra will rise to $1,300/mo.

ALTERNATIVE REFINANCE OPTION:

I estimate a cash out refinance leaving 20% equity in the home would give me about $110,000.

My new primary residence mortgage payment including escrow would be $2,000. This amount would be doable but would restrict my monthly cash flow for living expenses for my family retirement savings. Monthly take-home now is about $6,000.

My intention would be to purchase one or two duplexes or a four-plex in my area, which is the Provo-Orem metropolitan area of Utah.

QUESTION:

If you were in my shoes, would you do a "Cash-out" refinance so you could reinvest the equity into real estate?

I'd also like to know if you would do the cash out refinance but invest it differently?

I'm still learning about real estate and so while I continue my education and am looking for a good deal, where would you park the cash? With the rest of my $13,600 nest egg in taxable brokerage account invested in VTSAX?

I'm looking forward to feedback from people with a lot more experience in analyzing these situations and appreciate any time and attention you give to my question.

Thanks,

-John

[Chris Levarek]

@John M Arnoldsen Nice background, really gave all the info and that helps when answering. So  it always depends on your situation and what your investing strategy will be. 

You are trading a lower payment per month, thus less money put aside per month, for some cash now with the 15 year loan. With the 30 year loan, you get options in case you change your mind on having a lower monthly payment.

It really is a preference. Some like the Dave Ramsey with no debt approach and paying 15 year terms or all debt off. I tend to want to invest today with the cash value of the dollar today versus pay off 100% of debt. Leverage is the real benefit to real estate investing. So I tend to like 30 year or longer loan terms. Having that extra cash per month gives options as well.

I also use HELOCs instead of Cash out refi. Again, I like having options and not being locked in to more interest and a high monthly long term loan. HELOCs give you options. My plans change, my real estate strategy changes and I prefer to have the debt of my investments on something i can adjust or pay off quickly versus be locked into a cash-out refi long term mortgage payment.

Having cash from a cash-out refinance can be good, but don't kid yourself, the bank is still making all that newly added interest on the new loan amount. So whether you use HELOC or cash-out refinance, you paying interest. Just up to you to deploy it where that interest is a moot point because your investment is earning a higher ROI.

In either case, work on defining your end goal/vision(will help with above). Pick an asset class and strategy(Active investment, Passive investment, BRRRR, Flip, Private Lending, etc). Align with good partners or team. Take action. Learn. Repeat.

Hope that helps!