So if you do want a HELOC get it before you move out.HELOC - Pros: Fast cash, easy access, flexible; Cons: Floating rates or higher rates, less available equity as cash, short AMMO; use to take advantage of opportunities quickly then find long-term financing later, best to pay of quickly due to increased expense over other financing optionsCash Out Refi Mortgage - Pros: Excellent terms (low INT, long AMMO, higher LTV=more cash), stable/low INT rates; Con: SLOOOWWW to take out compared to HELOC, slower to reorganize/restructure or close out; generally these are good for financing other deals that are longer term and stabilized in nature. 

yes good in theory  very difficult and risky in practice.. on BP you basically only hear the good news  LOL.. not man people post like you have on the risks and difficulty.

Hey Erik,I think you would be able to find this resource in the FilePlace link at the bottom of the page where people have uploaded really good personal tools and excels that might assist you with this.

Sandy - If you're looking for a multi-family excel spreadsheet to develop a pro forma for a 5+ opportunity, there are several free options available.

Hi All,Excited to share the news that I have signed the contract to buy my new rental home.

I realize this thread is a little dated...All excellent comments and suggestions!

Having a face to face conversation often seems like the best way to share what might be bad news to people. 

This could be an excellent source of income that you could use for future properties. 

To give you an example, we walked every 5th unit at an 800 unit property, but only took notes on paper and used excel to track and estimate costs.

For my clients here, I am really focusing on making sure I am presenting assets that have excellent appreciation potential.