quick newbie question

[Vaughn Black]

Hello everyone,

 I have a question and I was hoping I could get some input from people with wayyyy more experience and knowledge than I currently have. I am new to investing and looking to do a fix and flip or a fix and rent deal (in case I can't sell in a timely manner) very soon (1-3 months ideally). Here is my question- We currently have a mortgage on our home in northeastern Pennsylvania on  which the payoff is  about 68-70% of value. I have a few options and I was wondering what the opinions are:

Option 1- Refinance with an 80% home equity loan and payoff the existing mortgage and pull a few thousand out in cash to put towards an investment deal. I could refi this at 30 years instead of our current 20 year mortgage and drop the monthly payment by $200.00 also which I could use elsewhere. This would give me the needed cash to purchase an under 40K property outright or a significant down payment for a more expensive deal and help with rehab costs But would be a new loan/inquiry on my credit report 

Option 2- leave it as is so I don't have any new inquiries on my credit report and no recent loans to make it easier to obtain financing for an investment deal over the next few months.

I see advantages and disadvantages to both and am trying not to over-analyze.

Thanks for any input