Primary cash out refi, HELOC, other first time investor options

[Ryan Guffey]

I'm looking to start investing in the Kansas City area. I was looking to refinance my primary residence before I started looking at real estate. Now I'm looking for the best way to start investing, here are some of the options I was curious about. Would it be better to:

Refinance and potentially save 300 a month and save up for my first investment property?

Cash out refi and use that as an initial down payment?

Look into a HELOC?

Or are there other alternative financing options that would be better to look at first?

[Pete M.]

@Ryan Guffey There are a lot of variables that go into any decision, as you can imagine, and those will vary from person to person. With rates being near historical lows, now may be a good time to refi your primary, but you also need to consider how much you stand to gain from doing a cash-out refi (limited to 75% LTV) vs a rate/term refi (80-85% LTV). Rate/term refi won't get you any more cash up front, and may even mean you have to pay some cash to close; you could then couple this with a HELOC. A HELOC is a good way to tap into that capital in the property, but you'll be paying interest on it while the money is out, so you'll need to factor those costs into your returns and strategy.

What do you think your primary is currently worth, how much do you owe on the mortgage, and what's your current interest rate?  How much cash do you need to get started?