best credit card debt combination

best credit card debt combination

Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 0 votes

I am looking for some down payment seed money to expand my real estate rental property holdings.  I currently only have 2 rental properties (I have had a total of 5 over the last 12 years so I am small time, but somewhat experienced), but am looking to expand. Maybe buy four 30k-40k homes in next year.  So several questions.

1. I have two chase ccs.  One has a 27k credit line (which I have had for 10 years now) and 0 balance.  I rarely use it.  The other has a 30k credit line.  It is new.  I have 20k balance for businesses expenses (another business I have).  It is 0% apr for the next 5 months and then 9% or so kicks in.  I have the cash to pay it off, but would rather use those funds to help me buy some more rental property.  I am wondering what having a 20k balance on a 30k card plus a 0 balance on a 27k card does to my credit score.  It is otherwise excellent (runs from 750 to 800 on any given day).  I will need an excellent credit score because I am looking to get loans for some more investment properties and possibly apply for some more credit cards with 0% balance for 18+ months for some more seed money.  I have about 30k seed money available to me right now (not including money I have set aside for daily expenses) and would like to add another 30k in new credit card money.  I won't use the old line (and could close it if necessary) because it doesn't offer me 0% intro offers.  Closing my oldest account though would probably hurt my credit score.  I will be able to pay off the credit card money I borrow in 2 to 3 years with some extra money I have coming in (from a house sale), so carrying a balance is not a worry.

2. Which credit cards offer the best 18+ month 0% apr WITH A SIGNIFICANT CREDIT LIMIT? Getting a 5k credit limit with a discover card is a waste of time. I am looking for 15k minimum and 30k ideally. I already have two chase cards, so they are less desirable as I can't transfer a balance to them if i want to. The two discover cards I have had in my life have always been low limit. For some reason, citi always rejects me even though I have excellent credit. I don't want a card that starts with a low balance and then works its way up, as I am looking to do the 0% apr use of funds right away, while the offer has the longest staying power. Finally, I am looking for a card with the lowest monthly payback rate, so to keep my DTI as low as possible. Currently, my Chase is 1%, which is good.

3. Recommendations on easiest way to pull money from card to checking account.  Thus far i have buying things on my business card and putting the sales revenue into my checking account.  Works great with 0% apr, but takes time.  I can write credit check for cash, but am usually limited to 5k limit and have to pay 3%.  Can run it through paypal as business purchase with family member and pay 3%, but may be illegal/unethical.  Could even do paypal gift at 0% fee, but probably is definitely illegal/unethical.  I see some cards allow you to transfer money from card to checking account for lower fee (as low as 2%), but not sure if they give you much of a limit.  See below.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/money-transfer/

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Lender · Denver, CO · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 597 votes
11y

@Michael B.  Probably goes against every thing you are asking, but borrowing from credit cards to buy rentals feels like a slippery slope to me. If you can buy 30-40k houses in your area, why not just buy with the money you have and bank financing? I would hate to see you have 4 houses on credit cards not be able to refi them and the interest rates in the 15-25% range.

You may also want to just double check that your CC doesn't charge more for cash advance vs purchase.

I like your creativity, just need to be careful.

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  • Lender · Denver, CO · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 597 votes
    11y

    @Michael B.  Probably goes against every thing you are asking, but borrowing from credit cards to buy rentals feels like a slippery slope to me. If you can buy 30-40k houses in your area, why not just buy with the money you have and bank financing? I would hate to see you have 4 houses on credit cards not be able to refi them and the interest rates in the 15-25% range.

    You may also want to just double check that your CC doesn't charge more for cash advance vs purchase.

    I like your creativity, just need to be careful.

  • Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Travis Sperr:

    @Michael B.  Probably goes against every thing you are asking, but borrowing from credit cards to buy rentals feels like a slippery slope to me. If you can buy 30-40k houses in your area, why not just buy with the money you have and bank financing? I would hate to see you have 4 houses on credit cards not be able to refi them and the interest rates in the 15-25% range.

    You may also want to just double check that your CC doesn't charge more for cash advance vs purchase.

    I like your creativity, just need to be careful.

     I appreciate the advice.  I made my post too complicated.  I should have broken it up into multiple pieces and questions.

  • Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    11y

    @Michael B. , I have done the same thing, using CCs for down payments.  I used the checks they provided for 2%-5% fees.  Once I bought outright with a cc, but there aren't any $30-$40k houses here anymore I would touch. Felt good to have a paid for house and motivated me to payoff the cc balance of $23k quickly.  What I did was diversified my credit lines.  If you  have everything with Chase, they have the right to penalty price you for using too much of your available credit lines with them. Poof go your intro terms.  I also had a card that bumped my rate to 29.99% because they were in financial distress during the recession.  The point is, these lines are risky.  I wouldn't do it anymore as I've grown more risk-averse and established. It sounds like you  have been prudent with your money and saved over time.  That's great!  If you do decide to do this, do it carefully with a specific plan to pay them off quickly. Don't stretch your avaiIable credit with one issuer. I would love to see the cc companies lend you money for very little interest!      

  • Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    11y

    Hey Michael,

    There was a recent thread discussing something similar and some options/ideas for different cards that other investors are using.  You can check it out here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/151386-how-to-get-access-to-upfront-cash---easily

    Hope it helps.

  • Investor · West Bend, WI · Member since 2014 · 214 posts · 149 votes
    11y
    Maybe its me but CC debt is the devil in my opinion. Never want it and if I do paying it off is my only priority. It is the definition of bad debt! My vote is Pay it off and go from there.
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