Sell? Hold? Refinance? What to do w/ primary?

[Dominique Williams]

Hello,

This is my first post, and I’m looking for some insight in to what others would do in my current situation.

I bought a townhome in Aurora, Colorado using a first time homebuyer loan program in 2016 as a primary residence at the age of 23, I’m now 26. Conventional loan w/ all closing costs and down payment taken care of by loan program (4%).

Now, I have moved in with my girlfriend and I have been putting the townhome on AirBnB for the last 3 months, which has been good to me, but I’m looking to do more.

Here are some of the numbers...

Purchase price: $265k

Loan balance: $230k

Comps in area: $300k (conservatively)

Mortgage payment: $1650

Airbnb avg rental income: $2500 (net $200-$400/mo)

I want to know what you all would do in my situation. Here are a couple scenarios I’ve ran through my head.

- refinance the property as is

- make a few upgrades and refinance

- sell as is

- make a few upgrades and sell

- get a heloc on the home

- I am also eligible to use the first time homebuyer program again (no downpayment/closing costs), which I am interested in taking advantage of again

I want access to cash in order to get in to the real estate investing arena. If I sell I believe I would net about $45k after all is said and done. May not be a whole lot in the Denver metro market to work with but I would be willing to take my dollar out of town. Not sure how refinance or heloc would work in this scenario.

Don’t necessarily have a fixed agenda here and I’m ok with that, just want to make the best decision for where I’m at right now. Can’t really say I have a particular strategy such as a buy and hold, house hacker, fix and flipping. I’m open to most possibilities and looking forward to delving deeper in to real estate.

Would like advice on what you all would do with this scenario and particularly looking to get advice on where we are in this cycle. I want to protect myself as much as possible while also pushing the envelope and really kickstarting my real estate investing lifestyle.

Thanks and please let me know if you have any other questions about me or my situation that would help you get a better understanding.