Do I sell or is refinancing to obtain equity a good idea?

Do I sell or is refinancing to obtain equity a good idea?

Member since 2021 · 1 post · 2 votes

Hello, as I am pretty new to real estate investing I would like to avoid making a big mistake. So I'm asking for professional advice and experience. 

I currently own two 3 bedroom houses on a lot and a half. I purchased the property 3 years ago for 163000$. I still believe that was a great price. I've done some renovations in the one house including: new kitchen, wall demo for open concept, paint, windows, door and a few other small things. 

it's been rented for 3 years with a great tenant. Bringing in 1200$ month gross. 

the other home next door  that I currently live in is also a 3 bedroom with a 1.5 bathroom. This house is bigger and has a fully finished basement. I've redone the kitchen, floors, paint, outdoor deck. Windows were already new. 


Now, I'd like to purchase either a triplex or a single family home where I can move to and rent the other home I'm currently in. I have equity in my home roughly 80 000$ won't know exactly until I get an appraisal but after doing some research of sales in the neibhorhood I've come up with a value of 240000- 250000$. 

do I sell the house and by something else or do I keep 20% equity in the home and refinance for a down payment? If I keep the property and move to a new investment I can rent the two units for a total of 2500$ month before expenses. But refinancing would bring my loan amount higher. Which means higher mortgage payment. Can I still see a good return? Or have I made my profits with this property and it's time to move on? 

Thanks hopefully I can get some input :)

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  • Realtor · Hanover Twp, PA · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    @Bailey Laviolette, You live on the property and it is less than 4 units. So, I believe you should be able to do a cash-out refi with a conventional fannie/freddie loan meant for an owner occupant. Those give you the BEST terms possible. Low interest rate, 30 years, fixed rate.

    I would do that cash-out refi, which would technically require you to stay in the property for 1 year and then use that money for a loan on the next one. The reason I would do this is that it looks like your investment would cashflow given those rents. Do some analysis to confirm, but it meets the 1% rule.

    If it doesn't cash-flow well enough, then you can sell and NOT have to pay income tax on the profits if you lived there 2 of the last 5 years as your primary residence and use the proceeds to buy the next property.

    Either option is fine, but getting more units faster is desirable because when you only have a few units you will have more highs and lows with tenant issues. With more units things even out and you become better at managing the property and tenants. 

  • Real Estate Broker · Forney, TX · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 399 votes
    5y

    @Bailey Laviolette, welcome to the BP community! Wishing you the best of luck

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