real estate investor newbie question on using home equity

[Tao Xu]

Hello!

Great to find this forum and see a lot of eye-opening discussions! Though being a home owner for many years, only until recently, I decided to become a real estate investor. Something about myself: located in Houston, TX; home owner of one SFH; landlord of one TH. My investment goal is to buy properties at good location with good deal, use mortgage, rent them out to have a positive cash flow, and let it slowly appreciate and take advantage of the tax benefit.

The TH I own has been already paid off and valued around $400k. Since it is in a very good location, I still want to hold it. But it is $400k sitting there with minimum return (after the repair, high property tax, the rent is less than $2500/month). I am wondering what my options are to better use this equity for my future investment. Any suggestion?

I look forward to connecting with other investors, agents, contractors, CPA virtually or in local meetups and exploring new opportunities!  Thanks for your time!