What would you do? Sell, HELOC or something else?

Question

Hi all,

We currently own condo (2/2) in Honolulu and approved for $250k HELOC. We’re deciding to whether to take it or sell it to obtain fund to start investing in real estate. I am not experienced, but would like to start investing in real estate (including other states). Could you give us advice/insight on our situation?

the condominium unit:

- purchased 10 yrs ago, Renovated and rented out for a while

- 2bd/2ba/1pk

- HOA: $1000

- expected rental price if rented: $2200-$2300 ?

- selling price : $600k, I hope. ( 3 floors below sold for $550k)

- No mortgage

The condominium is well maintained, yet very old that there seem to be many problems also there will be special assessment)

If taking HELOC, we’ll have some fund that can be used right away if we find a good investing property. Yet, we won’t be able to put our current condo for sell - the bank told us that it can not be sold or rent out for 1 yr. Also if sold within 3 yrs, there’s penalty.

If not taking HELOC, we can sell the property, but not sure when it will be sold - till it’s sold, no fund to purchase properties.

What would you do if you were in this situation? Would you take HELOC and hold the condo ? Or would you try to sell the condo now? Anything that we should look into ?

Any idea, opinion, thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Steve Vaughan · Answer

High HOA costs (even if w/s/g and exterior /grounds covered)  with ongoing condition assessments coming so I'd sell.

Steven Foster Wilson · Answer

That is a great rate/terms.

If you want to know more about the Ohio markets, I am always willing to connect and talk more.

Try not to get the "analysis paralysis." I know that can be hard although sometimes if everything lines up then I would just go for it. I learned so much form my first deal and I do not regret jumping in.

Kari A. · Answer

Hi Steve,

Thank you for sharing your opinion. You’re right; it is high HOA fee and it is increasing every year. Plus special assessment has started for the just-completed project, yet I believe there would be other repairs in the near future.. Even I could probably cover all the cost if I rent the unit out, it would leave us a very little income and can be very stressful to find good tenants, continuing repairs etc,, I believe. If putting it for sale, not sure how long it would take to be sold (since with the rising interests rate, it seems like the real estate market in Hawaii is slowing down as well). So I need to take them all into account and decide wether it’s worth it. Your thought verified what I was thinking/afraid of was not wrong. Thank you.

Jason Lum · Answer

This is a first lien HELOC right? and you have 250 available at 80% LTV right? Im in Hawaii and have a first lien HELOC on my home that I used to start. Id do it differently were I to do it again. DM me and I can give you my two cents.

Kari A. · Answer

Hi Steven,

Thank you for your response.

The percentage of HELOC: 1.75% for 36 months then Variable APR. I contacted a few local banks and chose the best one. I did not know I could even negotiate on the rate.

I have not identified the places where to invest, to be honest. Flexible, but I definitely need to research, put numbers and study more. Thank you very much for your suggestion. I am a newbie and it is very helpful.

It would take quite some time for me to be more educated, familiarize with numbers and act fast. It seems like it requires time. Taking more time = piling up the cost for the current unit. Literary, time is money.Thank you for sharing all the info! I look into those links and start familiarizing myself more with the real estate investment and enjoy more

Steven Foster Wilson · Answer

Do you know the market you want to get into? I think that is a huge first step of identifying which market and why? I like to look at where huge corporations have or are choosing to set up shop. They pay people to find the next best market, there is a reason they are set up in the places that they are in. I think it is important to start running numbers in your area and the OOS places you are thinking of investing in. The more you do this the more familiar you will become in knowing when something is a good deal. I like to use this calculator https://www.calculator.net/ren...

If you buy in a market that you can get a property that will appreciate and cashflow then you could refinance/HELOC the new property and pay off the HELOC that you potentially pull for this property. For example here in Columbus Ohio our appreciation has been 8% higher then the US national average, because of the high demand for affordable housing. I have been able to buy into equity, sure it can take patience and then acting fast when you find a good deal but totally worth it.

Wherever you end up starting to grow your portfolio it is important to get your systems in place. You will need your core 4 https://www.biggerpockets.com/.... I would also start to listen and read as many RE things as you can to gain more knowledge.

What would you do? Sell, HELOC or something else?

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