I would probably lean towards the refi because it would be a fixed rate and you won't be paying back the debt quickly.  

Hi, I'm a prospective first time home-buyer (please forgive my ignorance) looking to house-hack;  I recently visited an open house, liked the house, and really liked the ideas that the seller's agent had on how I could cash flow the place.

If you can identify a way to help other people do any of the following, you will be much more likely to find a MF partner: sourcing deals, sourcing capital, securing debt, underwriting and due diligence, execution of a value-add program, securing the operational side, etc. etc.

You will definitely get debt pay down with a property as well as depreciation.

Depending on how your borrower responds could go longer if they file bankruptcy or challenged the debt in court. have you made any contact with the borrower to see if he or she is willing to execute a deed in lieu?

It does show up like a credit card, as the debt part can get quite high vs the balance.

Will this hurt my Debt to income Ratio and lower my chances of getting another investment mortgage in 2020?

I'm new to real-estate investing and I'm trying to understand the difference between the different forms of investingI want to play this RE game for the long-term and have the portfolio benefit from appreciation, depreciation, tax-free cashing-out, leverage using low interest rates, cashflow to cover the expenses.Here's my understanding of eachDirect RE- Full ownership / control of when to sell- Can leverage & deleverage as you want- Work involved to maintain property; But can hire a property manager to assist- Can provide cashflow to cover expenses + CoC return- Provides hard collateral / security for the money you put in- Tax benefits - depreciation, phantom appreciation, interest deduction Majority Partnership- Form partnership where you are majority owner with 2+ other people (with more capital input) - Can provide benefits of direct RE on controlSyndication- Passive investor / accredited - Less work- Access to commercial RE which you can't get otherwise- No security / collateral for your stake; Can loose everything- No different from investing in a business- Already leveraged returns; You don't control how asset is structured- Depreciation benefit passed through K1; But no benefit of 1031Crowdfunding- Low minimums- Already leveraged returns- Can be equity or debt based; Equity stake has some tax benefits through K1- No security / collateral and everything can disappear without recourseIs this correct? 

Better to build your own equity through the debt paydown, enjoy the tax benefits of ownership, and garner the equity of an appreciating asset.

Dti takes the total of all your monthly debt pmts divided your total monthly income.