Should I sell my home?

[Jody Tims]

Hey BPers! 

I own a 5/2 on 1.25 acres in Oregon City, Or, near Portland. I have a view of Portland and a bit into Washington. The home is unique in that it is a 1965 ranch with lots of Midcentury charms. I have about 300k in equity and the market is at about 18% a year. I am preparing to buy another home in the burbs using a HELOC for the 5% down. I'd like to purchase property #3 in the next year or so to generate cash flow. After running the numbers, it looks like I will cash flow about $300 a month once I rent my current home. The house and property can require quite a bit of maintenance, which I do not have the time to do. I was wondering what people thought about this situation and whether it might be more beneficial to sell the home so I can do the full 20% on the new place and have a down for 1-2 more properties that would generate more cash flow. I realize I'd be trading money later for money now but I'm just getting going on my real estate journey and not sure of the next move.

Thanks so much!

[Brad Hammond]

Hi @Jody Tims sounds like you are in a good position to take your investing to the next level!  I think the first thing you need to do is really analyze the different scenarios.  I have a handy analyzer tool that would make this easy to do, let me know if you are interested in it.

Generally speaking, I think it is better to sell and reinvest that money into new debt.  With prices so high and interest rates so low you can really supercharge your investing.  The payoff won't be in the next couple of years, it will be more like 5-7.