(We have an IRS lien that will be paid off in four years and I am pretty sure that could be worked around.)My wife is hell-bent on being able to "burn the mortgage" as soon as possible and is resisting refinancing with a $30K cash-out to drastically improve the functionality, curb appeal, and comfort of the home we've lived in for 35 years.I feel we should do the refi, make the house new again, and enjoy where we live. 

Read some studies (but consider who paid for them and their motivation :-) And cities like LA, Seattle, NY cannot blame the vacation rental market for their housing problems, those are the result of failed policies by years of leadership....Vacation rentals have many benefits over standard rentals that you might consider a) they open up areas to vacationers that would ordinarily not be accessible (not everyone wants to stay in a hotel district).b) they almost always improve the neighborhood they are located in - the house, inside and out, must always be in near-perfect condition in order for the landlord/host to stay in business.

Recently I’ve been having trouble finding ways to improve my credit score in a timely fashion.

.- Purchasing subsequent liens doesn’t improve rights to ultimately foreclose on the property as the senior lienholder would just pay off junior lienholders in the event of a foreclosure.Most of the institutional investors I have seen at the larger auctions were purchasing liens at a 5-6% premium last year (on a 9% note).

Hello fellow investors, Question regarding a Joint Va loan.

@Jason Ricardo salgado I wish I knew that automated messaging exists and improves reviews and guest experience. 

Debating on whether I should ask him if he wants to invest in a property together so maybe I could get a better discount on the home improvements and also get to go through the step by step process on the house rehab.

Our business partners want to make some improvements to the house with the 7 yr tenants in it - it does need carpet, some minor mechanical improvements, etc pretty badly but they want to use money from the checking account to pay for it - the house is within 3 years of being paid off and has more than enough equity to cover it. 

Good choices could be either utilities, or hardware/home improvement stores. 

Toledo is also now ranked the #2 city with the most improved parks in recent years, as the city government has been spending a lot of money to revitalize its parks.