My home has $20,000 in equity. What investments would help me produce cash flow within 3-4 months?

Any ideas from REAL ESTATE EXPERTS would be greatly appreciated!!

Well, if you are seriously looking to make an investment, an idea you could consider is buying a cheap 2 bedroom condo in your area. I don't know where you live, but in areas I invest, you can easily buy a 100K condo to rent out. You will have to do research, but here are some steps you could do. You want to be able to put down 20% on a home. You will avoid paying PMI, which is NOT tax deductible. Also, you can put your home into a corporation which I will explain later.

1. Look up www.huduser.org. That gives you fair market rents in your area. That will give you an idea on how much a 2 bedroom will get you a month

2. When buying real estate, make sure you have a good management company. They are the difference between making a profit and losing it.

3. Your rent should be able to pay your loan off and give you a monthly profit of at least $100 dollars after ALL of your expenses.

4. Also consider incorporating. Ask your lawyer and accountant on how to do that. Put your home in an Limited Liability Corporation. That way, you can have tax deductions AND you can protect your personal assets from lawsuits and liability.

5. You are wondering why I said buy a 2 bedroom condo. They are MUCH easier to rent out than a 1 bedroom. I know, I learned that the hard way. It took me a year before I found a renter.

Here are somethings that could produce a steady stream of money. You will get a cash flow as well as build equity in your home by doing (almost) nothing. As long as you are willing to do your research and do tons of paperwork, you will make a wonderful investment.

PS... be patient. Don't rush into buying properties. Take your time and find the right one. I promise you will not be sorry. I'm not.

Don't cash out equity in your house. That should only be done in an extreme emergency.

Kitchen or bathroom improvements usually pay off.

WORK

$20,000 isn't that much leverage and you might end up paying a few thousand to either refinance or take out an equity line of credit. It's not "found money"--you are paying it back at whatever interest rate you sign the papers on. I have a home equity line of credit and my interest on an adjustable line of credit went from 6.5% to 8.50% in two months. That interest rate applies to my entire outstanding balance. That kind of fluctuation could drive you into forclosure if you are living on the edge. I personally would not try and do anything with $20,000 in equity. Your property values may have decreased, you might not have any equity.

Real estate right now is shakey.If you take your equity out ,Your payments will go up of course.Only buy property with a positive cash flow.If you do the MATH and it looks right YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFULL .

you could theoretically borrow on your equity at 6-7%, so your investment would need to pay at least that.
good luck on making bank of 20k in 4 months. if i knew how to do that i wouldnt tell you but try this.

Use it as a downpayment, buy an run down investment property. fix it up then Flip it or refi it and rent it out. Actually, try calling around and see if you can loan out your money on a house as a private money lien. You can make 10-15% on those

20,000 isn't a lot of equity if you consider what it will cost to access it. Any money you take out of your home is not free money, you are taking out a loan or credit line against your house that you will have to pay back. If you want to buy more real estate just go strictly by the numbers, calculate ALL expenses the property will incur and add the rental income if you can generate poitive cash flow then go for it. I haven't been able to find positive property here in CA in a few years. good luck