Here are the details upfront:Purchase price-$135kDown payment-25% ($33,750)Target ARV-$170kWhat is the best, most cost effective way to pull out this equity gain and use it for a longer term, mortgage-like loan that I will use to purchase another property?

Hi Stewart, I am on the go right now so I don’t have the time to check out the lease agreement you’re using (I assume it is when you have pulled off BP).  

As far as pulling out your equity, have you considered a HELOC?

It is a great way to pull equity out on your properties with a low fixed rate. 

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.

But if I were in your shoes I’d weigh a few different options.  1) you could refinance your existing property and pull out a bunch of cash and use that to pay for additional down payments. 2) 1031 exchange into a larger 5 plus unit. 3).

When I initially challenged that fee, Lender did say that he may be able to lower it but  first would need all the paperwork done, credit pulled, etc. 

I don’t think I’ll ever see some pulling that off again any time soon.

If I understand you correctly, you are advising a sort of modified brrrr strategy - modified since these houses are owned already but strategically pulling out a conservative amount of debt.The houses are mostly C class but some border on B-.

My back-of-the-envelope math shows a potential ROE of <6% (assumes pushing rent, 50% expense ratio, and 20% down at purchase).Pull your capital and use a 1031 to get into a MFR that will provide better returns.