Rental properties with equity, now what?

[Debbie Farmer]

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Hi,
First of all I can't say thank you enough for this message board. I've been a landlord/investor for 3 years winging it more or less (usually less) on my own.

Here are a few questions regarding my situation that I hope you can help me with and that may also help others:

Scenario: I own 7 rental properties that I paid cash for, each worth approx 100,000 each with a cash flow of average 1,250/mo. (It may seem I paid alot, but these are California prices) I had to pay cash because I had no documented income at that time. Now I can use the rentals as income because I've owned them for over 2 years.

My main question....where do I go from here? I think I should start leveraging, so I'd like to cash out refi about $200,000 to purchase a few more properties. (Out here, you need all cash to compete in that price range so getting a loan would seriously decrease my buying power.)

Would cashing out $50,000 in 4 or 5 properties be a sound move? (Scary after having no debt). And would having all those HELOCS effect my credit score or just my income, in the case I want to buy a new private residence (where I might need a 30 year fixed) in a few years?

Thanks in advance for your insights.