Refinance or HELOC to reinvest

[Dan Oconnell]

Good Morning, 

I am trying to figure out how to pull some equity out of my duplex. I purchased it in 2015, we did a bunch of rehab and we think we can pull some money out of it and re-invest into more real estate. Sounds simple but the few bankers I know keep laying down hurdles that are getting in the way. 

I would like to refinance and put it into her name (bankers say no because "she doesn't currently own it, and that she would need to own it for a year before we could do a cash out refinance"). She and I have been working full time at our "W2" jobs now for a few years and would like to make the switch to real estate investing full time. As our family grows she will cut down to part time so my thinking is (correct me if I'm wrong) that banks will not lend as much to her as they will to me.  

In order for our business to grow we need some cash and that is one place where I know we have some. I owe 36k on it and I think it could refinance for 70k. Since the first duplex, we have purchased 2 other properties one small single family where we live now and another duplex. They are all cash flowing but I did show a loss on rental income for tax purposes (still trying to figure out if that's smart or not).

Any advise would help. Thank you all so much!