How much to refinance?

[Neil Lorenzini]

Hey BP, this is my first time posting here. Hoping you all have some wisdom for me.

Background:

I never really intended on being a landlord or investing in real estate, but ended up with three single family rentals over the years

I’ve been taking steps recently to make this more legitimate and actually pursue real estate investing with some intentionality.

Situation:

One of my houses has a mortgage balance of 90K and in going through the refi process the appraisal came in at 250K (much higher than I anticipated!). If I take out that much I’m pretty sure it will cash flow negative (1600-1700/mo is likely the max rent). I originally intended to take out money and use it to buy the next property.

Question:

Should I stick with the original plan and not take the maximum amount and keep the property cash flowing positive, or should I take out the maximum amount and try to find two new properties even if this one now cash flows negatively?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.