One -CF Rental, want to expand, thoughts..

[Aaron Wright]

Ok, here is the situation I am in right now:

I have one rental property, which was a home that I lived in for 10 years, and was subsequently unable to sell.  I have nearly 50% equity in the property, and 10 years until payoff, but am cash flowing negative about $50/month (without expenses).  It has been rented for 1 year.

I want to begin to add properties to diversify my income.  I have good income, good credit, and some cash in the bank, but am also leveraged pretty hard on my current home.

So, my thoughts about moving forward look something like this:

Try to find a smoking deal which I could purchase and rehab with my savings, get it performing, then borrow money against it to replenish my savings.

I don't have any private investors right now, and I suppose that I feel like attracting one, or even getting a portfolio lender, may prove difficult because of my negative cash flow and leverage situation..

I guess my question is, if you were in a similar situation, what would think your way forward looked like?

Thanks!

[Matt Motil]

I would try and refinance the rental property to lower the monthly debt payments to where they would work with your rental income. Depending on the income, you might even be able to pull some cash out too, don't know the numbers. 

From my experience, attracting private money is as easy as finding a great deal that makes sense. Your past record will be a talking point, but not as important as your current deal. Find the deal and the money follows.