Cash out Refi or Not? (I know, not the first forum on this topic)

[Jaiden Olsen]

I own a home in Kaysville, UT. I bought it about two years ago for $215k. Since then, I have put about $40k into remodeling and adding a MIA(doing all the work myself). As a result, we have been able to rent out the MIA to offset our current mortgage costs by nearly 80%. I had to finance about $20k of this using a home equity line. With the market appreciation and forced appreciation in my property, my home is now worth ~$310k. I still owe about $195k on the original mortgage and about $18k on my HELOC. My question is this, should I do a cash-out refinance? Doing so would allow me to pay off my HELOC, pull out $30k-$40k, and still leave ~20% equity in the property.

I have been bombarded with all kinds of opinions on what I should do. I recognize that restarting the amortization schedule on my loan may cost me a lot of money (in interest) in the future. I also recognize that my mortgage payments will likely increase $300-$400 per month. On the flip side, I would have $30k-$40k liquid cash I could use to acquire my next investment property(s). If I'm honest with myself and everything I've learned here on BP, I should refi and BRRRR/House-hack the heck out of the deal, but all my financial advisers (parents, in-laws, etc.) are telling me to just focus on getting out of debt ASAP.

Thanks to all the local input! Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, Logan, Utah

[Emily Hall]

Jaiden, get your friends/family a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. :) I say stick with the HELOC and don't touch your mortgage with a lower interest rate (I'm assuming).