All Forum Posts by: Michael Castania

Aaron, the property breaks even because I purchased it originally to live in, not as an investment property. It certainly would not be a property someone would buy for the sole purpose of investing. The mortgage payment is too high compared to the typical rent values in the area. After a few years I had the option of refinancing to either lower the payment significantly or get some cash out to continue investing. I chose the latter, since my main goal is to get more properties.

Lee, that's great advice. The HELOC is a great option at this point in time and I will certainly consider it. Thanks!

Hey guys, I'm looking for some advice. I'm not quite a newbie to the game because I've been renting out a single family property for almost 7 years now, however I'd still call myself a novice since I've never really focused on buying anything else. I only own this 1 property and now I am interested in starting to build a bigger portfolio. I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of selling this property that basically breaks even month to month. The catch is that it's in a highly appreciating market. The home has appreciated over 60% in the almost 10 years I've owned it. A recent cash out refi has given me enough to buy 2-3 more SF homes that generate a decent amount of cash flow and keep the original property.  Or I could also sell this other property and have enough to either start a pretty good 5-6 SF portfolio with good cash flow or possibly even a couple multi-family units. If we remove the downside of capital gains tax, which I'd get around with a 1031, what are the main considerations I should be looking at in this scenario? Any help for a newbie is greatly appreciated!