Best approach to refinance? 15-yr vs 30-yr fixed mortgage

[Manny Awasom]

Hello Biggerpockets members. I am pretty new to real estate investing but have been a Biggerpockets member for ~1.5yrs now. Like most I've read countless forum posts (thanks to all the contributors!), listen to the podcasts, read startup books etc but somehow still managed to let fear hinder me from expanding my portfolio. I somehow gained some confidence after reading David Greene's BRRR book and viola here I am. Anyhow, here's my scenario hoping to get some insight from you all (again i'm relatively a newbie so still learning). I purchased a condo about a year ago, mostly with the help of a relative (because i had no idea what i was doing), did some renovations to it and was able to rent it out to a section 8 tenant. Purchase price was $115,000 [Mortgage $103,500 @ 5.25% 30-yr fixed], current cashflow ~ $500 a month after all expenses. Great tenant, minimal maintenance monthly. Of note, I put in almost 23k in renovations into the property (again really did not know what I was doing). Comps in the area are going for about 150k-180k ARV. I am thinking about refinancing to get a lower rate so I and called two credit unions in the area; credit union A offered me a 15-yr fixed mortgage w/ no cash out @ 4.25% and credit union B offered me a 30-yr fixed mortgage @ 3.87%. Going with option A, i would increase my monthly cash flow by roughly $100 and $150 w/ option B (hopefully i did the math right). Please correct me if i missed anything.

My question therefore is, with a good tenant, minimal maintenance etc would you guys strive to pay off the mortgage quicker i.e. 15-yr fixed mortgage (Option A), OR opt for a higher monthly cashflow by extending the loan overtime i.e 30-yr fixed rate. Difference in monthly cash flow is about $50. 

My apologies in advance for the long post! Any additional advice/recommendation greatly appreciated.

[Michael King]

So....why don't you take the 30 year one, cash out at 75 or 80% LTV, then repeat and buy another one. If you're at $500 a month and looking to increase cash flow, replicate the first one and now you have $1000 a month. And it seems like you'd get more money out than you ever put in the first unit.

I made the mistake of paying off a property when I had the chance, for increased cash flow. And while I have the increased cash flow, I could have gotten even more cash flow by buying several more properties. Lesson learned.