House hack refinancing

[Richard Atella]

I am currently house hacking. I live with two friends that pay for most of my house payments. I have a decent amount of equity in the house but I am paying PMI. Should I refinance to lower my payments and eliminate the PMI so I can have some positive cash flow ? Or should I cash out and put the money towards buying a second property?

[Jonathan Holmes]

What is your long term strategy with this property? If you at some point are going to turn it into a rental then you will likely need to get your payments lower. If you intend to sell then just build your equity. If you intend to live there forever then the cash out refi might be a good call.

It all depends on your game plan and what your numbers look like. Can you get enough rent to cash flow when you move out? Maybe it is going to appreciate enough that selling in a few years makes the most sense. Figure out what your end game looks like and then do what you need to to get there. 

Unrelated, I hope you are saving the money that would be going to your house payment as that would be my first step towards the next property.