Pay Off, Refinance, or Sell

[Steven Embree II]

I'm just starting out in devoted real estate investing. I've owned my current rental property (condo) since 2006 and now I'm in the position to be able to pay it off in February or March. I've never refinanced, so I could also obtain a MUCH lower interest rate if I did that. I don't know which choice to make. Here are my considerations and my thought process, thus far:

PAY OFF
1. Cash flow increases. With no mortgage, my cash flow increases to about 40-50%, since I have an HOA and a property manager. One of the four positive financial aspects of owning real estate, CASH FLOW. (GOOD)

2. Debt to Income ratio drops to 0 because I have 100% equity! The second of four positive financial aspects of owning real estate. (GOOD)

3. I can move to an LLC without issue. (GOOD?)

4. Money is tied up in the property. (BAD)

5. I still benefit from appreciation. The third of four benefits of owning real estate. Though, the appreciation of this property's value is slow to negligible. It's appreciated about $20,000-ish in 13 years. (GOOD)

6. Potential tax benefits of owning the property outright. Fourth of four benefits of owning real estate outright. (GOOD)

7. I can leverage the property against loans for multiple rental properties, thus taking advantage of the money I have without liquidating it. (GOOD)

REFINANCE

1. Still no positive cash flow. I'm technically losing money on the property at the moment and even with refinancing, it doesn't look like it will produce a positive cash flow situation. Even if it did, I don't think it would cover the amount required to make it a solid cash flow property. (BAD)

2. Added closing costs. (BAD)

3. Vastly reduced interest rate. (GOOD)

4. Little to no change in my debt to income ratio. (BAD)

5. Interest payments can be written off of taxes. (GOOD)

SELL

1. I keep the money from the sale of the property and can use it against another property, though it wouldn't be much. (GOOD)

2. The money I intend to use to pay off the property can be used to purchase multiple rental properties. (GOOD)

3. My debt to income ratio drops back to 0. (GOOD)

4. The property is no longer an asset, zero equity. (BAD)

5. The property is no longer making me money, so no cash flow. (BAD)

6. I get no tax benefits from the property. (BAD)

7. I do not receive benefits of appreciation. (BAD)

Am I missing something here? It seems like the choice seems to be fairly clear, but I'm second-guessing myself. ANY and all thoughts on this matter would be more than welcome!

Thanks for allowing me to join!