2nd Rental. What to do next???

[Nick Lucas]

One year ago I purchased my first rental, house hacking a 4000 square foot duplex. I am looking into getting my second one here soon and need advice. I believe I have two options.

Property Info:

Purchase Price: $365,000

Current Loan: $329,000

Interest Rate: 5.7%

Mortgage:$1900

PMI:$130

Insurance:$157

Taxes: $320

Current Rent Left: $1200 (Market $1400)

Current Rent Right: Owner Occupy (Market

$1800)

1. Option 1. Save and pay down mortgage to 20% equity ($292,000). This would be about $40,000 and would take approximate 8 months to accomplish. On top of the 8 months I would need another year or so to save approx. 30k for a down payment on the second property. Bottom line would have me cash flow $800-$1000 after all said and done.

2. Option 2. Refinance to a conventional loan.

Use approx. 6 months to save for down payment and look for the next property to house hack. Bottom line this would cash flow around $400 a month. Much less than option 1, but much quicker timeframe.