I’d like to turn my primary residence - $225k townhouse (3 bed 2.5 bath) - into a rental and then go on and rent a $2500/month luxury townhouse.

One big advantage of this strategy is you can use conventional financing with a lower amount down as it will be your primary residence which also has a lower interest rate than an income property loan.On your question about buying section 8 rentals, I think this is also a good strategy to add to your portfolio and you can buy section 8 duplexes in Lansing, MI for around 100K and its a great rental and investment market.To your success!

Since real estate and laws governing such are primary state differentiated, the transition will be uneven.

If this is a primary, you will have a good rate/term with a local bank/CU.

However, I have found it tiring to manage since it is far away from my primary residence.

Hi Ryan, Are you looking to purchase this as a primary home? 

For a primary residence to cash out; You can cash out, with greater than 20% equity on a SFR residence and greater than 25% equity in a MFR.

RE for me is not my primary source of income I have regular job that pays well.What are your guys thoughts.

We purchased our primary property here in Hawaii in 2021 and have found immense benefit from the property setup which allows us to rent out our "ohana" unit (mother in law) which covers our mortgage costs.

Cameron,If you are looking for a Primary Home loan its easy you can use a DPA program.