I have cash and equity in my home, what should I do next?

[Franchesca Potter]

I have 30k cash, 780 credit score and 102k equity in my home. Should my next step be to refinance my house and use the money to purchase a multi family? Multiple single families? Should I go to my loan officer that I initially got my mortgage from? Should I focus on finding homes in pre foreclosures so that I can buy for cheaper? Do I need a real estate agent? My dad is an experienced contractor, so I have no hesitation about investing into a home that needs work. I’m just trying to create passive income

[Account Closed]

I would start with an investor friendly agent. Who's going to manage this property when you put a tenant in it? If the answer is not you, you might be able to find an investor friendly agent who also manages property. Read through your city's local BiggerPockets forum. Look for active agents whose advice and activity appeals to you. If you post in your local forums you'll get railroaded with PMs, so I'd reach out privately.

A good agent/PM will be able to advise you from there. Find what you're looking for in regards to property, and then the financials and plan should sort itself from there.

Good luck!

[Jason Wray]

Franchesca,

It's always good to rate shop and check with a few banks. When you look at your old HUD-1 settlement statement you can use that as an indicator as what you were charged last time for fee's and costs. If you are taking out cash from your property and using traditional financing/conventional just avoid paying unnecessary points/origination fee's. Take your time jumping into a contract with a an agent until you have fully decided on a location and have talked to your Dad and a few agents to see who offers the best service. Also do not let several people pull your credit until you have talked about total origination costs, closing times/turn times and program options.

[Whitney Hutten]

@Franchesca Potter Let's take the steps in order. First, start with this guide to help you get clarity on your why, goals, and strategy. Once you know your goals/strategy, this will inform what could be a great way to use the equity funds. If you are putting downpayments down that you can't easily refinance out of the property, I like the idea of a cashout refi so you aren't tying properties together and you have flexibility. If you are going to BRRRR, you could get away with a HELOC as long as you have strong reserves behind you. Then move on to identifying the market and team. PM me if you have Q's.