Cash-out refinances are how our portfolio feeds itself. Properties we bought three to five years earlier fund the next purchases, and every couple of years we can pull a couple hundred thousand out and keep growing. In 2023 alone, we took out about $450,000 across cash-out refinances.
But the most common way I see investors get into deep water is treating the refinance like an ATM: the lender says "it's cheap money, take the max," they do, and then the property cash flows negative once you factor in the expenses the lender never considered. Worse, when they apply for the next loan, they get declined because their global cash flow across the portfolio is too weak.
Here's the framework I actually use, with a real deal from my own portfolio.
The case study: my 8-unit in Clarksville, TN
We bought this 8-plex back in 2019 for $510,000 (we're never going to buy an 8-plex in one of the top-growing cities in the US for that price again). At the 2024 refinance: about $292,000 owed, roughly $1.1 million value, NOI just shy of $48,000, existing debt service around $22,000 a year, cash flowing about $25,000 a year.
Step 1: find the max loan
At the lender's 1.25 DSCR requirement, the maximum loan was about $525,000.
Step 2: decide what to actually take
I took roughly $450,000 instead, which left the deal at a 1.34 DSCR and only 47% LTV, with new debt service just under $36,000 a year. That choice gave up about $1,100 a month in cash flow and put $150,000 in my pocket.
Step 3: justify the money with a hurdle rate
My rule: the redeployed cash needs to earn at least an 8% cash-on-cash. On $150,000, that means at least $12,000 a year. If I can't find that, I just leave the equity where it is. I wanted the balance between getting a good return on the cash I pulled and not emptying the ATM. Before I redeploy a dollar, I run the target deal through my deal analysis calculator to confirm it clears the hurdle.
In this case, the $150,000 went into converting a shop on one of our Washington properties into a detached ADU: about $123,000 of cost, taking a structure renting for $500 a month to roughly $2,100 a month. That's around 15.6% cash-on-cash on the money, which clears the hurdle with room to spare. (If you're weighing an ADU yourself, here's how to run the numbers on an ADU.)
That's the flywheel: the properties feed other properties, and it cycles up. It just takes time.
How to shop the refinance itself
The rate quote is not the whole story. My process:
- Send only a rent roll and T-12 (sometimes a schedule of real estate owned and personal financial statement) to about five lenders. No applications yet.
- Build a side-by-side spreadsheet: rate, amortization, term, monthly payment, and fees. Rate gaps that sound huge often aren't. On this deal, 6.16% versus 6.75% worked out to about $100 a month difference, and one "cheaper" option wanted $4,000 in extra fees to save $78 a month.
- Weigh execution risk. Loan brokers sometimes give you teaser terms that shift by closing. I deliberately paid about $100 a month more to use a known direct lender who could close in 30 days, because certainty has a price and it's usually worth it.
- Set calendar reminders for balloon maturities. I'll admit it on the record: I forgot about an October balloon until a week before I dealt with it. Don't be me. Calendar it the day you close.
When the answer is sell, not refinance
Sometimes the refinance math tells you something harder. We spent two years renovating and stabilizing an apartment complex, and we underwrote it conservatively: a 25% property tax increase and 30% insurance increase built in, rents modeled at $1,150 and achieved at $1,250. Reality beat our conservatism anyway: taxes doubled and insurance tripled.
At refinance time we owed just under $1 million on a $1.5 million property, but DSCR constraints meant bringing $100,000 of new cash to close the loan. So I ran that $100,000 like any other investment: it bought a 2.4% cash-on-cash and about $100 per unit in monthly cash flow. That's not an investment, that's a donation. We sold instead. That whole judgment call is its own topic, and I walk through it in when to buy, hold, or sell.
Run your refinance like an acquisition. The equity doesn't care about your feelings, and neither does the DSCR.
And if the property you'd refinance carries a low pandemic-era rate, don't trade it away: a second-position HELOC lets you tap the equity without touching the 3% first mortgage.
If you're deciding between pulling equity and partnering for capital, read how to raise capital with JV partnerships first.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a qualified CPA or tax attorney about your specific situation.
