All Forum Posts by: Christina Venegas

@Christina Venegas I think the tough spot you are going to be in is that you don't have that much extra on top of your original down payment yet. (Unless the property has gone up in value since your purchase). You might consider holding on awhile longer until it appreciates and you pay off more principal. If you refinance, you will likely pay some for of closing costs again and that will eat up a big chuck of what you could currently take out.
 If waiting is not an option or you are just eager to make moves, you might want to look into forcing appreciation. you could do this by seeing if there is a way for you to add extra bedrooms, bathrooms, or improve anything that is really low quality compared to other properties in your area. It would be good to really analyze the properties in the area and see how much any of that would potentially raise the value of your property. If it can raise it significantly more than it would cost to make the improments, that is probably your best bet. 

Yes your two main options are a cash out refi or a HELOC. Is the property paid off? If not, how much is still left on the loan? How much is the interest? If the interest is low, then you will likely want to do a HELOC to keep that interest rate. If it is high, then you can consider a cash out refi.

Absolutely not. Paying rent on time doesn’t erase dishonesty and lack of integrity. If she’s willing to steal a package on camera and still deny it, what else is she capable of?

A good tenant is more than just a rent check—they should respect your property, your rules, and the people around them. You don’t want someone who could cause legal issues, neighbor complaints, or worse.

There are plenty of qualified tenants out there who pay on time and don’t steal. Keep looking.

What do you mean by problematic?  Fussy?  Moves often? Criminal history? inconsistent or less idea income sources? Moving from outside the area and clueless? Facebook feed is full of drama? Bad landlord reference?

I use a point system for screening; applicants get positive points for positive aspects, lose points for negative aspects, and I have a point threshold for each property.  They either have the points or dont and I move forward or not.  The more you can make your screening objective than subjective the easier and more successful everything will be.

It's definitely possible to get a HELOC on a primary home, but most lenders have a seasoning periods which are typically 6-12 months after purchase before they'll allow it. Since you put 5% down and the appraisal came in at $160K, your available equity might be limited since banks usually cap HELOCs at around 80-90% loan-to-value (LTV). You'll want to check with local credit unions or smaller banks since they often have more flexible HELOC options. Have you already asked your current lender? Some will offer a HELOC even if they originated your first mortgage.