I will start by saying I am very lucky to have a paid off primary residence in the northern Kentucky area in my late 20s. I have recently been educating myself to get into real estate investing, but with so many paths forward it is difficult to pick.

My wife and I originally planned to move within two years into our "forever home". This was planned to happen by selling our current residence, as well with our well paying for the area W2s. Recently, we have talked about getting a start in real estate investment to accelerate our goal of financial freedom. 

We have gone back and forth with the ideas to sell the current residence and use the money to invest in multiple properties. Rent out the current residence ($2200 - $2500/m) and use it to pay for a mortgage in a house that we are able to rehab and add value to. Stay in the current residence and save up for a SFH to rent in the area. The thought of house-hacking would work for us, however there are no multifamily homes in the area that would be able to accommodate us, our child, and our 2 dogs.

I feel that already having a paid off residence can take some of the risk out of whatever path we decide to take. However, we have no idea which path best suits the current position that we are in.

What would you do if you were in our shoes?