Inherited 2 Properties

[Jared Leslie]

Hey all. I'm kind of new to.. well pretty much everything. I'm 29 yo, and until this year I was pretty much living paycheck to paycheck, saving a little. I have a pretty stable job and income every month.

This year I inherited two properties and some cash (enough to invest). Both of the properties are paid off completely. I am currently living in the older of the two (1950's), and am fixing up the newer one (1970s). I've been doing a little research, and I'm pretty sure I'd like to eventually rent out both properties.

My question is about the equity in both of them. I don't know the best thing to do with the equity. Does it make sense to leave it in the property so I can get the maximum amount of rental income? Does it make sense to like do a cash out refinance and invest it in something else? Would it be reasonable to use that to invest in something other than more real estate?

Thanks in advance for any help.