Am I my own worst enemy when investing?

[Andre Jones]

What's up, Biggerpocket family?

I thought I would come here for advice regarding the dilemma I'm having. I'm looking to move forward with pursuing my goal of financial freedom through real estate investing.

For some background, I currently have a primary residence and a rental property. My primary residence was purchased as a foreclosure a year ago and only required cosmetic work. I'm in the final stages of completing a no cash-out refinance and discovered with the appraisal the home is valued at $80k more than the loan. My rental property is in its second year of being occupied.

The issue I'm having is finding what strategy makes sense for me moving forward. I've been analyzing this for years now. I read several books, listened to podcasts, attended a couple of meetups, and just recently got my real estate license. I looked into maybe applying for a HELOC and start with flipping to build up my liquid assets or going the hard money route. I eventually want to become a buy and hold investor with profits made from flipping. However, perhaps I'm overthinking all this and need to pull the trigger.

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!