heloc/refi Question

Does it make fianancial sense if you have a rental property to open a heloc or refinance and then use the cash to help you get through the months that no one is living in your rental property?

I would advise against that. You have to have reserves in place to help you through the tough times. The reserves comes from the property’s income while you have tenants in there. You also have to account for vacancies when you run the numbers BEFORE you buy. If you have to use the property’s equity to pay for the monthly expenses, you overpaid for it. I hope for your sake that you’re not in that position. You really should find another way to make it through. Good luck!

It should be much easier to get a tenant then to have to refi your property. You’ll have to spend a couple thousand just to refinance. HELOCs are good for emergencies, but you’ll work harder to get the vacancy filled if you don’t fall back on anything but cash reserves.