Small apartment investing or continue building small multifamily (2-4) portfolio?

[Paul Florez]

Hello all,

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who has given so much knowledge the last few years as I dipped my toes into real estate.  I have been a long time reader absorbing everything I can.  I hope to contribute as I grow myself and help others.

For this discussion, I have a duplex cash flowing $1,500/month with $220k in equity. I am trying to scale up my portfolio. If you were in my shoes, which of the following options would you choose and why? Oh and I already have a HELOC for $50k. Thank you in advance!

1)  Refinance property @ 90% ltv which leaves me with $157k (closing costs included in the new loan) but would be -$300 in cash flow in my current property.

               a) Buy a commercial multifamily property between 5 and 10 units to get my feet wet in commercial real estate.

               b) Buy a cash flowing property in the Midwest for under $200k with 20% down AND house hack a duplex/triplex possibly in Albany,                        NY.                

2) Wait another year to build more equity and get a HELOC @ 90% ltv and use those funds to buy more multifamily properties and keep my current cash flowing property.

Looking forward to hearing from ya'll!

[Greg Kasmer]

@Paul Florez - Would you consider a partner in some capacity? Either as a JV partner with equity or a private lender that would lend you money towards a project. I think the opportunity to scale rather quickly will depend upon using other people's money. However, if you'd like to develop a portfolio that is 100% "your own" that would be another path. In that case, I would vote for you to refinance at a lower LTV (~80%) to ensure you are breakeven/some small cash flow at a minimum. Good Luck!