So many options for my start in REI

[Patrick Penderel]

Hey all, this is my first post and I wanted to get as much input as possible about my situation.  I'm new to investing and I haven't purchased any properties yet.  I currently reside in my personal residence and I have about $170,000 in equity in the home and I have close to $40,000 in liquid assets.  I feel like I have a lot of options as to where I can go from here but I'll narrow it down to just these:

Option 1: Get approved for a FHA loan (since I have low capital to start) and then purchase a new home (small upgrade from my current residence). Then, sell my previous home and reap the equity benefit and be in a better position to start my REI portfolio. I would use some of those equity dollars to pay off part of the FHA loan and then do a refinance in the future to remove PMI. I could then have approximately $100k + to start investing with.

Option 2: Refinance my current residence on a 30 year mortgage to lower my monthly payment. (I recently did a refi but did a 20 year and I regret this) Then purchase an new home using a FHA loan (I'd be stuck with PMI for awhile in this case). I could then use my current home as a rental and it would be cash flow positive for sure. Possibly cash flow $200-$300 a month after all expenses.

Option 3: Don't touch my current home at all and just start looking to invest with the $40,000 I currently have.

Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!