Converting primary residence to rental property

[Kate Andreeva]

I am new to RE investing but would really like to start building wealth through RE. We own a townhouse and would like to buy a single family house in the next couple of years while keeping our townhouse and renting it out. I see a lot of calculations out there on determining how good a particular rental property is from an investment stand point if you are purchasing it. In our case we already own it and trying to figure out if: a) it's a financially sound approach to keep it and rent it out (this seems an easier entry point for us into the world of RE investing) and b) what are the best options as far as financing a single family house purchase. Do we do HELOC or cash out refi? Do we not refi and keep current 3.625% mortgage (we are 4 years into a 30 year term) which will yield about $200 positive cashflow per month but without pulling money out of existing property we won't have a big enough downpayment on a single family house? Should we refi without pulling money out to take advantage of lower rates which will likely increase cashflow but will extend a term of a loan by another 4 years. Should we consider FHA loan with 3% down or 80/20 loans on our single family purchase if we don't pull out money out of a townhouse? Looking for any and all feedback, links to online resources to explore, etc. Thank you! P.S. We bought our townhouse back in 2008 brand new construction and got a really good deal at that time. The townhouse appreciated quite substantially and we currently have about 50% equity.