Also don't fall into the trap of paying zillow for leads, other agents with bigger bank rolls have already beat you to it.

This is the long way around to say that if you are using money from a refi to make your next move it has a bit more gravity then if you pulled the down payment out of your bank roll.  

I am so fortunate to realize this career goal while I am still on my parents bank roll, and am in no hurry to make deals.

@Mike SullivanWith your bankroll, plus a small mortgage, you couldget something cash flowing in the Cleveland market if you decide to shift your focus from Detroit.

I want it to make enough money that I can bank roll that into more properties.

Also, if you do refinance it and buy more and the new properties are also "appreciation plays", you now have to bankroll multiple properties each month with a negative cashflow to survive. 

We will pay off the property we own and this will give us the option of quiting our jobs if either or both chose to.That being said, it's only one of many ways to do it.If you are going to actually quit your job then I think you need to have a LARGE bankroll to float the downtimes. 

Unless you have a good size bank roll, you're going to run out of money well before you can build a sizable portfolio.With SFRs and hard money, you can BRRR your investing and really grow a portfolio so that you can use the power of leverage and scale to generate some truly generational wealth.I started with a 43k HELOC 10 years ago.

This isn't the answer that anyone wants to hear but IMO, our bankroll (available cash/accessable equity) is a good guage of our preparedness to move forward in the REI game. 

Doesn't hurt your bankroll to be if you got 27 places but its not a priority on any "DIY" PM's list.