Greetings, BP! My husband and I have been lurking on this site for the past month and finally decided to create an account on this special day -- we officially closed on our 1st investment property today!
A little about us, we are in our early 30's and own and occupy a SFR in So. San Francisco, CA, which we bought before the price of housing sky rocketed. After a great deal of research and the help of a wonderful team of real estate professionals, we purchased our 1st investment property (condo) in a highly desirable neighbourhood of Seattle, WA. We kept the existing tenant but increased the rent. However, we will only be breaking even for the first year.
Now we're torn about where to go from here. Our ultimate goal is to generate enough cash flow so that at least one of us can retire in the next 10 yrs. Below are some options we're considering:
1.) Should we focus on paying down the mortgages on these 2 properties "quicker" (i.e putting additional payments toward our principal each month)?
2.) Should we save this extra money for a down payment on our next investment property?
3.) We have also gained about $200k worth of equity in our SFR. Should we take out a HELOC to finance the down payment on our next property?
Would appreciate any insight. We're trying to make wise moves and learn from the experience of others. Thanks!
