Should I invest in cash or take out a mortgage

Should I invest in cash or take out a mortgage

Member since 2021 · 1 post · 0 votes

I have about 500K to invest. I am a new investor and have not dipped my toes into the pond yet. I want to make a wise decision for my first investment. I am in the process of educating myself on options. I am considering pursuing long term rentals, short term rentals and flipping. Or maybe a combination of that. Would it be best to invest all cash? Or take out a mortgage so I can scale. My focus right now is cash flow. I figured I could get better deals with an all cash deal and maybe take out a loan later when I am ready to expand my portfolio and hopefully rates will be better. Avoid the interest. My understanding is you get a slightly better cash on cash return with a mortgage, but I don't see the point in taking on the extra interest right now when I don't have to. I was considering taking on a few long term rentals or one larger short term rental. The concern I have with short term is the regulations regarding this are constantly changing. Appreciate the advise. 

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  • Nate HerndonPro Member
    Lender · Springfield, MO · Member since 2023 · 278 posts · 195 votes
    2y

    Wow, welcome to the forums @Jessica Wieser! I will let some of the seasoned investors here address the "to borrow or not to borrow" question.

    I think it's amazing that you have the liquidity on hand that you do, and you have a lot of power with that. I think the responses that you will get will probably range from "scale faster and put down 20% on multiple properties" to something akin to a Dave-Ramsey-mindset.

    When it comes to investing, personally, the route that I see as potentially safer when it comes to cash-flow is the diversification of owning multiple properties. If you own 1 property all-cash and lose a tenant, you are out 100% of your returns. If you lose one tenant and you own 5 properties, you are only out 20% of your returns.

    That may be breaking things down too simply for some, but it is how my particular philosophy works. Good luck out there!

  • Erik EstradaBusiness Member
    Lender · Member since 2022 · 6k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Jessica Wieser:

    I have about 500K to invest. I am a new investor and have not dipped my toes into the pond yet. I want to make a wise decision for my first investment. I am in the process of educating myself on options. I am considering pursuing long term rentals, short term rentals and flipping. Or maybe a combination of that. Would it be best to invest all cash? Or take out a mortgage so I can scale. My focus right now is cash flow. I figured I could get better deals with an all cash deal and maybe take out a loan later when I am ready to expand my portfolio and hopefully rates will be better. Avoid the interest. My understanding is you get a slightly better cash on cash return with a mortgage, but I don't see the point in taking on the extra interest right now when I don't have to. I was considering taking on a few long term rentals or one larger short term rental. The concern I have with short term is the regulations regarding this are constantly changing. Appreciate the advise. 


     Hi Jessica, 

    Why not combine both? Many investors buy all cash, and do a refi after closing to ensure a quick close and a competitive offer. 

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