First foray into real estate investing

[Gene Riggins]

Greetings all!  My scenario is such:

I own a 3 bed, 2bath single family twin with fireplace, full basement and one car garage, which I purchased several years ago prior to marrying the love of my life. I recently had a emergent hip replacement surgery which through a real monkey wrench in my finances and credit. In the course of returning to work and repairing my finances, I’ve realized that my primary residence has appreciated and I have double the equity. We initially thought of selling to acquire a larger home which got me to watching real estate videos regarding the market and eventually leading me to bigger pockets. I’m devouring videos! 
We’ve entertained the thought of maybe cash out refinancing and purchasing a new primary residence and renting our original property out. We’ve noticed that three of the homes that have sold for comparable prices have been purchased by an older Asian gentleman who has come in and done minor rehab, and then rented out to what appears to be section 8 customers which has raised some eyebrows in our little community, but has put us in the mindset of that being a possible direction to go.  
We've also pondered as to whether we could we just stay and purchased an investment property for rental with thoughts of future income. With the sudden updraft in interest rates, these options have us in a quandary and I'm great full to find a forum that opens me up to this amazing world of real estate! We are Registered Nurses ourselves, but I've always been both mystified and scared of real estate, however, bigger pockets #493, got me exhilarated and determined to learn. I actually obtained an LLC two years ago with the intention of doing online sales, but I'm geeked to apply it in this direction. I appreciate any suggestions and teachings. I'm looking to learn, go pro and expand!