I own a house but don't live in it

[Jose Medina]

Hi I just wanted  to talk about this with you guys and get some suggestions I have a home I all ready own but I do not live in my in laws do I rent an apartment somewhere else and now I want to start flipping houses in my area I have had the house in my name for about 6 years now and I don't really have a lot of money to take out of the bank, I was just wanting to know if this could help me get started faster. Thanks in advance 

[Valerie Hiscoe]

If you haven't spoken to your bank lately, you may have more money than you think.  Even if you haven't paid off much of your mortgage, the rise in the value of your property since you bought it, could give you the equity you need to refinance or procure a line of credit.  You should speak with your bank if you haven't done so already.  They're usually happy to give secured lines of credit for the purpose of purchasing more property.

As an example, if you purchased the property for $100,000 and still owe $75,000, the bank would probably give you a line of credit for any equity over and above 80% of the value of the home.  So, all things being equal, you could get a home equity line of credit for $5,000.  If, however, the value of the residence has increased and is now worth $120,000, then they'll still want you to retain an 80% equity position, $96,000, but now you'll have $24,000 available for a line of credit with which to purchase your next property.

That's the great thing about real estate - your money works for you to make more money.

Congratulations on your first investment.  The sacrifice you make by living in a smaller place in order to have someone else pay your mortgage is the mark of getting off to a great start.  Hope you find an investment group to meet up with so you can be exposed to lots of people in branches of real estate.  Good luck José