Weighing options for first move on real estate journey

[Kyle Crane]

We are ready and looking to buy our first rental property, but are also considering moving to another primary residence in the near future now that home prices are decreasing slightly. Is it possible to do both?

We bought our current residence with a VA loan and it's a 4BR 2.5BA single family residence, built in 2018. We have a 2.55% interest rate and over $150,000 in equity. I feel both of these provide an opportunity. Here are the options I see using a HELOC:

Do a HELOC on our current primary residence and use that for a down payment on a new primary residence, then rent out our current SFR. Running the numbers, I think it would generate decent cash flow. In doing this, however, I feel it would halt our momentum into investing as we would need to wait to save up more money or gain additional equity to use towards another investment and who knows how long that could take.

Do a HELOC on our current primary residence, stay in this home, and use the equity to buy one investment property locally. Home prices in my area are still very inflated so a majority, if not all of the money from the HELOC would go towards a down payment (thinking 20%).

Do a HELOC on our current primary residence and use that to invest in 1, 2, or maybe even 3 properties in a different part of the country where prices aren't so high. That would require getting in touch with a team on the ground in said area.

I'd like to stay local for at least my first deal if not the first couple just to learn how to manage, but that may not be the best move. How can I accomplish both? Are there any other options I'm not seeing? Would using a VA loan again and putting less than 20% down on an investment property be a bad idea?

Any advice or alternate ways of looking at our situation would be much appreciated!