Loan Advice

[Roberto Lobrace]

Hi everyone,

I would like to get feedback from the BP community regarding my scenario. I purchased a single family home in my name as my primary residence in 2012. I have since moved out of it and kept it as a rental. I have a 30 year fixed mortgage at 3.5% and a HELOC with a variable rate currently at 4.25%, and still have approximately $100k in additional equity that I can tap into.

The other thing I have been considering is transferring ownership to my LLC. I thought this would be a good time if I end up refinancing the property. The reason I haven't done it yet is I am in Philadelphia and would have to pay the 4% transfer tax.

My questions are:

1. Should I refinance at a higher rate to pull out the equity? I would use the funds to invest in real estate.

2. Would lenders give me another HELOC to replace the current one? I thought this would be easier that refinancing, but have been told that lenders won't do a HELOC since it's an investment property now.

3. Should I transfer ownership to my LLC? I know that the rate would be higher, shorter amortization, etc. I know that I would eliminate personal liability, any other benefits I should consider?

Any and all advice is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Roberto