When a large percentage of capital is tied up, the cost of a delayed or failed refi isn’t just higher interest — it’s missed acquisitions, forced timing, or taking suboptimal terms just to get liquidity back.I’ve been seeing more borrowers optimize for certainty and speed on the refi, then re-optimize on the next cycle once capital is freed.

For Section 8 especially, I think focusing on durability (property condition, management, reserves) matters more early on than trying to optimize leverage.

As I start future projects — what would you optimize next?

You are unlikely to ever achieve a return matched by the S&P long term projection.Note I use S&P as one example and not necessarily the optimal example.Good luck

Here’s our current reality: We’re not physically in the US, so we can’t personally oversee renovations or react instantly on-siteWe don’t qualify for conventional financing and rely on hard money lenders (around $13K all-in per deal, including interest + origination)We’re not present in REIA meetups or local investor communities, where wholesalers, contractors, and key operators naturally connectBecause we’re remote, we can’t confidently “self-manage” or optimize rehab costs the way a local investor can  Because of this, we feel we need larger spreads to justify a flip.

Trying to prevent turnovers as much as possible will keep you in business - avoid too big rent increases, ensure places are optimized for utilities & efficiency (can be a big reason for move outs- too expensive), timely maintenance fulfillments & more!

The property is currently rented out to tenants and I have put a property manager in charge.. looking for any advice on whether this is an optimal approach for a single house portfolio or if I should manage myself for the time being.

For further complex tax codes that are important to understand, review Section 1250 and 1245.Cost segregation offers many unique benefits including optimizing cash flow, deferring taxes and improving asset management.

After this is well optimized, I plan to get more specific on structure and scale. 

For a first rental, something that’s easy to manage and resilient tends to beat trying to optimize returns right away.