Considering turning my house into a rental, help me decide.

[Brian Dunleavy]

So for a while now I have wanted to invest in a duplex to start my journey into real estate investing. I have done small amounts of research but to be honest, it has been lacking lately since I am busy with my current job (small business owner). 

My wife and I like our current house but it's not our dream house and we are always browsing to see whats out there. Well this week our dream house popped up and we are considering making an offer on it but we need help deciding what to do with my current house. We don't need the equity to put towards the down payment on the new house. 

My realtor thinks I can get about $340,000 for my house if I sell it. I owe $180k. 

My options - 

1. Sell it, take the money and reinvest into a duplex. My concern with that is I am busy with my job and will continue to put the investment off.

2. Refinance and pull the equity then rent it out as a single family home. My realtor thinks I can get about $2500/month for it.

3. Dont refinance and rent it out for $2500. My current Mortgage payment is $2,340. I have a 15 year mortgage with 12 years left at 2.75%. 

If there is something else that you would suggest looking into, I am open to that as well. 

TIA!