Is there enough room on this refinance?

[Mike Sangapore]

Hey Everyone,

I'm thinking about refinancing and I wanted to hear your opinions.. I bought a single-family house in Middletown, CT in April for $172,500 and took out a loan for about $135,000. It's a relatively decent deal and I am currently house hacking. It was in good shape so not the best deal for a BRRRR but the plan is to rent it out once I move out. Now things have changed and I will likely be living here for another 1-2 years but want to pursue another deal without dipping too deep in my pocket. I estimate that the property is now worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $210,000. Assuming 75% of LTV, would it be worth refinancing and only taking out about 60% of my equity? There doesn't seem to be much else I can do to enhance the value of the property to receive justified returns. This will also (likely) be a long term hold and I estimate that vacancies won't be much of an issue as it is a high rental area.

I'd like to note that this is also my first of (hopefully) many deals to come. This particular purchase happened to be for an investment but also a place for me to live so I didn't have the time to wait for the "perfect" deal that would be a good BRRRR property.

Thanks guys and gals for your help!

[Ryan Twombly]

Hey Mike,

I live in Middletown CT myself. Have you thought about taking out a HELOC? For a single family owner occupied property you can probably get a HELOC up to 90% LTV. This way you can achieve a higher LTV than refinancing. HELOCs also typically have no closing costs which is a big advantage. I took out a HELOC on my owner occupied three family about a year ago and can recommend some lenders if you're interested.