Newbie Help

[Adam Serrano]

Hey all,

I am brand new to the group and am also new to real estate investing.  I have had a long time dream of investing (rentals and flipping) and I feel I am at a point where I can finally take some steps, but need advice. 

I am married with kids.  We own a 5 bed/3 bath home that should be valued at $190-205K and owe around $143k.  Mortgage with taxes/ins is $1090 and we are about 2 years into a 20 year 3.5% loan.  My credit is around 760.  We live in a great area with a high rental demand.  Our home should rent out for $1300-1400 and acquiring rentals is what I want to get into asap.  We are trying to decide if we should rent out our home and move into a different home for ourselves.

Our debt to income ratio doesn't qualify us for two mortgages, but it is my understanding that if we rent out our home for a certain amount of months and can show that on our taxes, we could use the rental income to offset our home's mortgage, allowing us to qualify for an additional mortgage.  We are open to many options and just want to get this ball rolling.  If it would be wise for us to rent out our home soon and move into a rental, we can.  We are not tied down to our home and have been ready to move to a new home with a more desirous layout for our large family for a while now anyway.  I also know of a newer credit union in town that recently began allowing 10% down for investors.

I'd love advice pertaining to my situation.  Long story short, I want to begin acquiring rental properties as soon, and as smart as possible.

Thanks in advance!