and just like most newbie (or maybe some newbie), hesitant on pulling the trigger, and yes i know i have to just go ahead and do it. i'm asking, humbly, anyone that can help or guide me about funding/financing my first property. - i'm looking for a small mfh in lehigh valley area and have 40k to invest. house hacking is out of the question as my family is already established in the good old garden state. i was told by a mortgage person that it'll be better for me to refinance my house (cash out refinance) to get an equity and lower my payment so i can qualify for higher loan and maybe even able to purhase 2 properties. with the current rate, my interest will likely be higher than what i have now (currently 3.5% and  have about 11 yrs left on it). would you guys recommend doing a refinance in this situation (for a first rental property) or 40k give or take enough to start REI adventure. thank you in advanced for your time and i appologized if this post is confusing for those seasoned investor.

Send me a PM I would love to discuss in further detail and see if at the very least there is some valuable advice that I can share with you.

Undoubtedly, others will trot out Don Campbell and the RIEN network (though many like his publications and organisation, I'm find them a little too sales oriented).I would suggest Douglas Gray's "The Canadian Landlord's Guide: Expert Advice for the Profitable Real Estate Investor" as a good primer. 

I like the search features: https://www.biggerpockets.com/searchAlerts can be really helpful too: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing Check out BP Podcasts: https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcastIf you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

If you don't know any, I'm a Hoo and one of my good friends practices there (though not RE) and he'll guide you.

We are not very familiar with the city, and have been doing research with this guide as a starting point.

There are many free guides also.

The lease is what is valuable in a deal like this. 

I hope I was able to give some valuable insight!