Should I rent my current house if I buy new property?

[Ross Harter]

Hi Team, my name is Ross Harter and I am in the EARLY stages of real estate investing.

Here's my situation: I currently have a single family home with a mortgage. The mortgage is for $185k, and worth (in the current market) $280k. My wife and I are looking for our forever home, most likely going to build on a plot of land. The current home will most likely need a new roof and gutters within 5 years. Would it be wise to use this property as my first rental property? Or should I use the value to help with the new forever home and look for different rental properties?