Pacific Northwest (Portland/Vancouver)

[Eamon Keating]

Hello all, 

First post on the BP forums. I would like to start getting into the real estate investing space. Either house hacking, airbnb or one of the other many avenues of creating cash flow related to real estate. My wife and I have great W2 jobs in healthcare. We own a home in California that we are renting with a phenomenal interest rate (under 3%). It cash flows about $50-100/month since we are renting to a family friend/individual rooms (probably below market rate). We currently rent in Vancouver Washington. I graduate school in 5 months then my income will double or triple. Then we probably buy. I have a few questions related to starting out. I have seen a few posts about meetups. I was wondering are any meetups in the Portland Metro area? I am willing to drive to learn. Does it make sense to do a HELOC on our house with the interest rate as low as it is or do a cash out refinance? Or would it be better to buy a duplex with a FHA loan then eventually refinance it? My wife's family owns a few rental properties in California. Are there ways to creatively access the equity for us to use?

Thank you,

Eamon

[Sergey A. Petrov]

Don't refi out of your sub 3% mortgage. Do get a HELOC. Getting a HELOC shouldn't affect your ability to get an FHA loan but FHA loans are more expensive- run the numbers - interest on HELOC for a higher downpayment to avoid PMI vs FHA fees and rates over say 5-7 years unless you plan on holding longer. Whichever one comes out cheaper is the one you pursue. Using a smaller downpayment on your first purchase will leave you with more credit on HELOC for the next downpayment if you plan on purchasing several properties in the near future.

Family equity- if they are willing to lend you money, a cash out refi or a HELOC on those properties should do the trick

Just be careful not to over leverage yourself.