Capital Improvements

[Peter James]

All,

I'm looking for some advice on needed capital improvements on a SFR rental I own and manage. I purchased this property in February. Here are the monthly numbers; PITI and maintenance is $1025 a month and it's rented out on a month to month for $1400. Upcoming capital improvements are a new roof, exterior paint and some minor updating of 2 bathrooms. Most of the work I'll do myself to minimize my expenses. Here's the question I'm wrestling with; should I do all the updates at once using a small HELOC or is it better to spread the updates out over the coming years and have the generated cash flow fund the updates? I'm curious what seasoned investors would recommend or prefer based on your experiences. This is a buy and hold property strategy.

Thanks for taking the time and advice!  Cheers