Saturday, April 4, 2009

A Simple Guide To Refinancing Rental Properties

By Chris Channing

Over a long enough period, real estate tends to get more valuable. In as little as a decade, or even shorter, a piece of property may double or triple in value. In trying to profit from the higher value while still paying a mortgage, there are several methods to take advantage of the favorable conditions presented to you.

Let's say that you buy a property that costs an easy $100,000 with a mortgage you obtained. Over the next ten years, the housing market in your area becomes highly competitive as new people arrive and set up shop. Because of such events, the value of the property shoots straight up to $200,000- double the current value in which you invested in. You are now thinking of selling it for a quick lump sum- but is it the best idea?

Selling the property outright is actually a poor idea, depending on whether or not you desperately need the money or not. The extra money received as profit will be heavily taxed, meaning most of the increase in worth will go straight to the government. Obviously, not too many people like this option, considering there are more efficient means of keeping their wealth despite government interference.

If you would be so inclined, you could sit back and do nothing. You may raise the rent a little in order to stay competitive with rates around your area, but overall this process won't get you a substantial amount of money. Instead of selling or doing nothing, investors are looking into rental property refinancing, which can help extend a network of properties owned.

You could use a rental property refinance option to borrow against the new value in your home- which is around double what it was originally worth. That being said, you could deduce that you may afford another home of equal value after taking out the mortgage. So long as you have had a fair history with your lender, and have not skimped out on payments, you should be eligible to take out the extra mortgage with the proper real estate evaluation.

Even though it would be more logical to go for the refinancing, there are instances where it can't be helped but to sell or not mess with the added real estate investment. Adding another real estate investment to your portfolio may take time that you don't have, in which case the other two options are better. In addition, the new responsibility may put you into debt you can't afford to be in when a disaster strikes.

Closing Comments

If you aren't sure on which lender to go to, try using a broker to do the hard work for you. Brokers can be found online and through natural local resources, but will likely charge a fee in exchange for the information they dig up.

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