I'm not sure if I should refi or get a heloc.

[Derron Slater]

Hello BP society. My wife and I purchased our first home in California in 2012 with a FHA loan at 3.8%. Shortly after we purchased solar panels with a lease to own option ( lein) . 2 years later I was out of work for 1 year and we fell behind on Bill's. We did a loan mod nearly 5 years ago that was added to the end of the 30 year mortgage. Over the last 5 years we have payed all of our bills on time and are in a far better financial position. We have a lot of equity and would like to know what is the best way to tap into that equity to either upgrade our home or purchase our first investment property? 

[Patricia Steiner]

Congratulations on weathering the storm of being out of work and then rebounding so strongly. The issue I see you might have is with lien position. You can't do a HELOC unless the solar panel lender will subordinate their lien position to the HELOC lender - or you could include the pay-out of the solar financing into the HELOC. Either way, you need to speak with a lender and plot & scheme this out. I do think a HELOC will cost less in the long run - especially if you can find a lender who is offering a no closing cost promotion. Again, talk to your bank or the lender who did your FHA mortgage.