Advice on funding rehab
Hi All!
Long time follower, first time posting here. Looking for some advise on what other experienced investors would do in my situation.
I own two (2) rental properties. One is a condo, paid off, actively renting. The other, is a two-family home that I am house hacking at the moment, with the intent of fixing it up & eventually moving on and placing a tenant in the unit I currently live in.
I've owned the two-family for about a year, and have been renovating and funding it out-of-pocket as I go. However, as I've addressed most of the "low hanging fruit" the upcoming projects I have planned are all major expenses, which I can't afford to cash flow.
I'm wondering what my best option is here. Looking around online, it seems many have touched on the following options in their situations:
1. Funding through a 0% credit card and throwing as much money at it every month to eventually pay it off.
2. Using a HELOC or Cash-Out Refinance on the two-family to fund its renovations
3. Tapping into the equity on the paid off condo and using that to fund the two-family.
Looking for any and all input here. I'm torn between all options as I would love to avoid taking on the debt, but I also want to be realistic in what needs to be done and being able to get it done in a timely manner.
Thanks for reading!
Most Popular Reply
You've got three levers; pick the one that funds the highest‑ROI work with the least risk. 0% cards are fine for bite‑size, invoiceable items if you can pay them off before the promo ends. A HELOC on either property gives flexible, draw‑as‑needed capital and usually beats private money on cost, but confirm terms, rate resets, and if it's interest‑only. Cash‑out refi locks a payment and removes optionality, so only if the numbers still cash flow after vacancy and repairs. My move: price the top three projects, rank by rent/Appraisal impact, then compare HELOC vs refi vs card using total cost and timeline; choose the cheapest capital that gets those upgrades done inside six months.