However I am struggling to understand and evaluate the risks involved with cash out refinancing 2-5 years down the line.

How should I think about purchasing  our primary residence vs using our money to invest somewhere else when living in the Bay area (San Jose area)?
Both my husband and I have w2 jobs. We have 3 rental properties that...

Another rental is in a great area but has struggled recently due to increased competition from newly built apartment complexes.

Hi Keegan, I also have 3 kids here in SoCal so I know the struggle!

I totally understand the struggle, Venecia!

@Ashley Wilson you do not need to explain or defend yourself.Over the years, I’ve contributed countless pages of valuable content here on BiggerPockets, breaking down in excruciating detail why over 90% of investors struggle to land deals (hint: it’s all about marketing).

We're constantly updating our watchlist of struggling sponsors to be wary of, so it helps to hear other investors' experiences. 

I've even been sitting in a bank struggling to get my LLC set and called my senior advisor attorney who called me back immediately to help out. 

BTW, I could have mentioned earlier, when we refi'd in 2022 the appraiser came in at 1,300,000 and verbally told me that he struggled as he believed the property was likely worth more based on the location, views, income.

@Michael Baum I should have clarified in the initial post- Access to capital isn't the issues, but we did struggle when we attempted to do a traditional refinance.