I would cash-out refi. rates are still historically low, and if you can reduce your monthly expenditures by what seems like $600/mo, pocketing or saving that will get you to the next investment property faster.

Historically, Santa Cruz County trails both San Mateo and Santa Clara County in nearly every major real estate metric.

It does seem to be a it-takes-money-to-make-money / haves-and-have-nots reinforcing cards-stacked-against kind of thing.One public policy reason is the pernicious historical prejudice of literacy tests for voting rights.

Historically speaking even when the market corrects and property values come back down to earth, rents typically continue to increase due to the fact fewer and fewer people can afford to purchase. 

Is this a good time to be doing this, considering there’s a recession on the horizon, and rates will only rise, and property prices are at historic highs?

They're still below the historical average of 7-8%. 

A couple of articles on possible outcomes for housing prices based on historic data analytics.What will Happen with House Prices?

We kept the historic "push button" light switches as well.

It's in a great location, one block from the water in a small historic town that's 30 minutes from Ocean City, Maryland.

It's in a great location, one block from the water in a small historic town that's 30 minutes from Ocean City, Maryland.