To sell or to HELOC

[Mathew Morford]

I need some advice. I bought my primary back in April of 2021. I love my property, but I want to get into real estate and I think I could possibly leverage my equity some how. 

I owe about $115k(ish) on the property. Zillow shows $215k, realtor.com shows $213k, but that’s without knowing any of the improvements I’ve made on the property. 

Is it worth selling and using the possible large amount of equity to buy a rental property or should I HELOC and maybe buy a rental property? Or am I even going about it in a good way? I just need some ideas.

I just had my first new born son and I’m wanting to start getting into real estate so I can spend more time with him in the future where it counts.