On the other hand, if I were to go through all the legal steps and fill out the required paperwork to make this first home a "rental property" and myself the landlord renting to my two friends, wouldn't this would give me more of an advantage when going to obtain a loan for the next rental property as my monthly expenses would show as less and monthly income as more?

With the short time to move out state, I offer to take care of house.

So make sure your option money is enough to pay for a foreclosure in case you are forced down that path.Now if the tenant leaves willingly or you do a cash for keys instead of an eviction then you can avoid a possible foreclosure.

Your final considerations are Credit Cards or a HELOC but do their benefits carefully and pay them off in time. 

Good luck, take care.

With reserves taken care of, what you need to keep your eye on is debt to income ratio. 

No move you make in real estate will make as much of an impact as paying that off.

More details on my personal approach from syndicatio standpoint is in my article: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/10850/75569-care-for-your-investors-like-mom-cares-for-you

As far as they are concerned, the SDIRA is invested in shares of an LLC.

I been researching myself the answer to this dilemma - here are some other threads that you should read to gain insight in the various pros and cons of an approach versus the other.74999-paying-off-rentals-early568352-pros-cons-to-paying-off-rental-property-early547169-how-leveraged-are-you527382-pay-off-mortgage-and-snowball521188-pay-off-one-property-or-look-at-another74999-paying-off-rentals-early529189-payoff-mortgages-or-notShould You Pay Off Your Rental Properties Quickly?