Best choice to finance rehab on home prior to selling

[Allen Flores]

Hi Everyone

First post here on bigger pockets and hopefully will have a lot more to come.    I'm just beginning my real estate investor journey and am looking for some advice on the best way to handle my jump into the business.

I currently live in Fairfield, CA in a 5 bedroom 3400 sq ft. home.   The house last appraised at about $550,000 about 5 years ago.   Comps in the area are around $600,000 - $630,000 or so.   I have about $230,000 in equity so a good amount there.   Interest rate is 3.5% and I have about 20ish years left on the mortgage.   The home is essentially in good shape but dated as it's about 20 years old or so and could use some modern upgrades but it was the model home so it has features like granite counter tops, dual pane windows, French doors, etc... Probably more of an upgrade rather than rehab.   I ran some preliminary numbers through the BP calculator and it would be about only a 4% return if I rented so wasn't really considering renting anymore.

My question is: We are looking to move to a new home in the next 3 to 6 months, possibly out of state, so we are looking to upgrade this home a bit before selling it. Do I preserve my cash in the bank and get a HELOC or some other type of loan to do the upgrades, or should I use my cash even though I may need some for a new home down payment. Ideally, we would be buying a fixer upper for the new property at a good price and renovate before we move in. Are there other loan types I should be considering? Additionally, I will have another 50k in cash at the end of the year for investing as well. I have A+ credit if that makes a difference for my options.

Is there a rule of thumb for this or is it situational most time?

Thanks in advance.  So many more questions.  Thank you All!

Allen