Starting out my RE Portfolio - could use guidance!

[Roderick McCleary]

Hi Everyone - I am posting this with hopes of receiving some guidance as I begin to build out my RE portfolio. I'll give a quick background of where I'm at, where I'm hoping to go and ask how do you recommend I get there.

Where I'm at:

Currently, I own my personal property (have 248k left on a 272k note). I don't plan on living here forever. This property is located in the hottest neighborhood in Chicago so if I sold it I could sell for a 75k profit or if I rented it out I could make $400/mo doing so. I have owned this property for 2 years.

I also just purchased my first investment property in the suburbs. I have 2 units and my monthly net profit is $850/mo (I have 170k left on a 230k note). This is my first year with this property.

Where I'm looking to go:

I am attempting to firm up my strategy as we speak, hence why I am posting this. I THINK I want to buy no less than a 3 unit in Chicago. Problem is, a 3 unit is very pricey here (probably looking at 700k). I would assume I could live in 1 unit in order to utilize the "house hacking" strategy. Or, I could put 3.5% down and just not live there. Either or would work.

My other option is to purchase a nicer personal home (2br, 2ba, more sqft) and rent out my current primary residence for the $400/mo net profit. This would be an improvement on my personal life (selfish approach) but wouldn't necessarily improve my goal of building out my RE Investment portfolio.

So, those are my two options. Would be curious to hear people's opinions here.

How to get there:

This is the part I probably need the most help with: how, in my current situation, can I use the existing leverage I have (my primary and investment properties) to finance my next move instead of putting my hard cash down (aka more risk). What are my options? I've read a few different ideas but haven't gotten a chance to sit down with anyone to discuss my specific use case. Any advice would be greatly appreciated here!