All Forum Posts by: Mica Moore

I have a single family house in Corpus Christi, TX that is my rental property. The only loan on it is a $40K HELOC from BoA. It has a high adjustable rate of 10.5% & climbing.

I live in San Antonio, but this rental is in CC. I want to do a cash- out refinance of $60K ( $40k to pay off HELOC, $10K for new roof, & $10K for my personal purposes). Obviously a fixed rate mortgage would have a lower APR - & that's my main reason to re-fi.

I have good credit & income - & I always qualify. The issue is as I was calling around - I haven't found a lot of banks that will lend on a rental property ( at least in CC). Another issue is that if I could find a bank that lends on rentals - they often have minimum loan amounts ($80K for example). Which, I don't want or need that much. ( yes I know the house will qualify because it would be less than 50% LTV- I just don't want higher payments on money I didn't want to borrow).

The other thing is how much higher is the fixed rate, because it's a rental? And how much do closing cost run? Because I paid 0 closing costs when I got the HELOC 2 years ago. So if the rate is high & the closing are high & the loan minimum causes me to over- borrow -- then the payments would be higher & it would not make sense at that point to cash- out refi at all.

Any lender recommendations who have good, rates, low closing- costs& a minimum loan amount of $60K or less?

I had thought I responded to this - but apparently it didn't post. So I bought this house for me as personal residence & did live there the 1st year. I bought it with cash but months later got a HELOC on it for some upgrades & other expenses. So that is why the rate is higher/adjustable & not fixed ( I still have a line of credit that I could draw on if needed). There was never a 1st mortgage since it was a cash deal. The HELOC has always been the 1st position & only loan.

I had a change of plans where I needed to move away from the area. So I hired a PM and turned it into a rental in late 2022. At that time I was not sure if I would or wouldn't move back to Corpus Christi & live in the house again. I moved out of area and in late 2023 I bought another house ( financed) in my new city & it is my primary residence. I will not be going back to live in CC, and I expect to live in my current location for a long time. 

The tenant has been the same one there the whole time ( since 2022) & will likely want to renew again in the Fall. She has been a model tenant so I had no qualms about renewing her lease. However, since I'm kind of an accidental landlord, Im not sure if I should hold or sale.

I own a single- family home in Corpus Christi, TX. The taxes & Insurance ( combined) have gone up $200 a month since the lease was signed. I don't think the market would bear a $200 increase in rent ( when lease goes month to month), but $100 increase is possible.

The monthly net cashflow is now about $400 a month ( down from $600). The $400 net does not take into account repairs, capital improvements or vacancy. The property is 21 years old and there will be capital improvements coming soon ( new roof - $10K, maybe new HVAC $10K).  

I bought it for $165K in late 2021 & current market value is about $185K. I owe $40K on the loan & it has a high adjustable rate of 10.5% & rising ( started out at 8%).

What I'm wondering is if I should sell or keep the property. Is there a spreadsheet or calculation I could use to see how much profit I'm making vs. how much expense it incurs? I don't think this house is going to appreciate much & the older it gets the more updates it will need. I will say that I have an excellent tenant who has been there for 2 years & no problems.

 I forgot to add that we had an agreement that the PM has license to spend up to $300 without my prior approval. So what I'm mad about is that 1. It's over the approval threshold 2. If they were going to charge me 2-3x the market rate for this service I would have like to know in advance because then I would of made the cleaner arrangements. 3. If it was a cleaning crew of like 2 or 3 people then it would not have been a 6 hour clean. If it was 1 person cleaner their hourly rate would of been like $30ish ( on the high side). 4. Like I said I lived there & it was not a pig stye to begin with. It just need a regular cleaning with a few added things like cleaning appliances, cupboards, baseboards type of stuff. It was by no means trashed and dirty like a lot of tenants leave it.

House was my primary but I moved out of area for a job offer. Turned it into a rental property & bought a new primary in new city. Hired a PM, who hired & arranged for a move- out cleaner. I get the bill a month later & it's a $600 cleaning bill ( 6 hours billed @ $100 per hour).

BAM! So first off a housecleaner should be like $25/$30 an hour, NOT $100. And second of all ain't no way it would need 6 hours to clean because it was in decent shape. It's a smaller home ( 3/2 1000SF all single- level with tile floors throughout so no carpet). Tell me I'm not crazy and this is a raquet! ( I was thinking a $200 to $300 would be market range which is 50% of what I was actually charged).

Needless to say I'm pissed and blindsided. I'm cooling off from my knee jerk reaction & trying to figure out how to handle this situation.

What would you do?

I bought a 3/2/2 SFH1000 SF, move- in ready ( built in 2003) for $165k but they wanted $175K but I paid cash & closed quickly.  The market rent rate is between $1600 to $1700. I'm getting $1650 which is exactly 1%. I'd rate the neighborhood B or high C. It's middle class, low crime, clean & zoned in one of the top desirable High schools. 

This is in Corpus Christi, TX - Nueces County.

 My concerns and focus in this phase of my life is long-term financial planning - retirement etc (46).

I dont have any retirement savings except my job offers a State Pension and I own 2 single family houses. But no 401K or IRA.

I have $67K in non- mortgage debt that I am snowballing. $185K of mortgage debt on my primary. The rental is free & clear with a market value of $185K. So im trying to figure out based on my situation what is the best move for long-term financial sucess.

Now the rental is bringing in $800 net cash flow monthly, after all expenses are paid. I have an excellent long-term tenant who causes me no landlord headaches. The area and home does not appreciate very rapidly though. I bought it for $170K and 2.5 years later its worth $185K.

Is it better to keep the rental (as part of my retirement planning) as a long- term investment or should I sell, pay off all consumer debt ($67K) and put the left over cash in IRA, 401K, HYSA? The net from a sale would be about $100K.

 3 reasons: 1. 1031 exchange from my sfh rental ( have to transfer all of the equity) 2. Interest rates are high & a larger down is needed to get any cash flow. 3. I want the property paid off before I retire in 20 years.

I'm looking at a multifamily Triplex to buy & owner occupy 1 of the units ( so 2 rentals). 50% down mortgage $1700 ( includes taxes & Insurance). Turn- key updated/ low maintenance units. Income for 2 units is $1100 each ( so $2200 income). Not yet sure the rest of expenses but between the $500 net income per month it should be a break even. So basically my living quarters would be free for me. Is this a good deal? Or should I try to find something with more cash flow?

Nevada! It takes 5 days to evict a tenant for non- payments or lease violations. There is also a 30- day no cause eviction.