Refi on FHA - Strategy to buy the next property

[Neil He]

Hey all, Hope we are all staying well

I am working to refi my FHA loan on a Triplex, our first and only rental located just outside Sacramento, Ca

The plus side is that we'll be getting a better interest rate and our payment will go down $325, but that isn't quite the primary concern.

The concern is that we are rolling 9k in Prepaid PMI to the balance plus I think we'll see values come down a bit which will kill our LTV which is sitting at about 80% right now.

The goal is to be in a position 8 to 15 months from now to buy our next 1-4 unit property to fix and rent. This will kill any chance of pulling out equity as I see it and I was hoping to be able to put down a lower % down payment when we buy (5-10%).

 My loan guy says this is the correct strategy to the next purchase if we want to refi for a lower payment and be setup a year from now. It isn't the path strategy I know.

Assume we our combined income is about 90k. 710 credit score, student loan debt of 40k. Current Mort/escrow payment is $3666. Monthly rental income is $3275 (we live in the 3rd unit and is rentable at $2100).

Any suggestions or experience would be a big help!

Thanks all.