How Do I Take Advantage Of Capital Gains To Grow My Portfolio?

[Tyler Belliston]

Hey Everyone, 

Every time I write one of these I get great feed back! So thanks in advance. 

Here's the deal...

I bought my first property a year ago for 300k, and it's likely appreciated in value 55 - 70k. That's a rough estimate based on other homes near by, I still need to get it reappraised.

 I got an insanely good deal on it and over the last year, a high end housing development nearby has caused the property value to sky rocket. 

So now I'm scrambling to learn everything I can about how to leverage capital gains. 

Do I need to sell the property to take advantage of capital gains? 

Is there a way to refinance so I can get a little cash in my pocket to buy another property?

Note: I think I'm still in the 15% tax bracket as a college student, so that means 0% tax if I were to sell it, yeah? 

Any advice I can get will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks.