Should I invest in my house to refinance and use that to BRRR?

[Alex Lawson]

Hey everyone, 

I am at a bit of a cross roads in my real estate investing and I was hoping that the community could help me to make the best decision. 

My girlfriend and have owned a duplex for one year. We live in one unit and rent the other out. We have done a good amount of work to our unit to fix it up and it currently in good shape. 

We live frugally and are saving toward a 20% deposit to buy another property that we can BRRRR. Currently we have no debt whatsoever other than our house and we don't own a car.

OPTION 1: In a few months time we will have about $10,000 and could probably be approved for a line of credit for $30,000-$40,000 at an interest rate of 10%, which we could use toward a downpayment and the rehab. 

Option 2: We can invest the same $10,000 cash plus $30,000-$40,000 line of credit in our own home to turn it into a triplex and increase the value to refinance (hopefully significantly more that the money we put in) and use that money to buy a BRRRR. The work that would need to be done would be an very inexpensive kitchen, bathroom and dormer. This work would have to be done by contractors since we both work full time jobs.

We are totally happy with either option, and only care about which one will give us more to invest, make us more appealing to lenders and get our BRRRR momentum going faster.

Thanks again for any responses! They are really appreciated!!!

[Thomas S.]

Do not waste your time attempting the conversion. It will not significantly increase the value, will cost more than you think and probably not be approved. Basically a waste of time and effort that could be put to better use.

Save your money until you can buy another duplex and move into one side. You can do it with only 5% down and only need to live there for a year.