HELOC or Refinance for my first property

[Jason Wamsley]

Greetings BP!

I'm new here and new to RE investing. I just started reading David Greene's BRRRR book and have a question for the group. My apologies if this is a silly question..

I currently live in a house I’ve “owned” since 2003, owe $51.6k with a monthly mortgage payment of $449. According to a quick Zillow search, my house would value at roughly $139k. I’d like to leverage the equity to purchase my first rental property while we slowly improve my current house to eventually turn it into a rental as well.

Would it be best to refinance and take cash out, get a HELOC instead, or refinance for lower monthly and then get a HELOC?

I’ve been reading up on the differences but still unsure what my best option would be. Also, we have about $10k in cash in play as well..

Thanks in advance!

Jason