Sell or refi to buy next property?

[Rei Reid]

New to the mindset and eager to begin developing my real estate portfolio with the intention of having income from rentals and buy a stable home to live in while kids go through high school.

Current situation is I have 230k equity in our condo in Southern California. The housing market where we live (and where the kids’ school is) is 650-850k. Current rental value for the condo is 2600/mo; but would require some work to get rental ready. Considered refi allows me to pull out around 125k.

Considering selling so I can do a down payment on a single family and still have money left over to do a 1-2 multi tenant rental properties. One market being considered is Tucson.

That’s a lot, I know. But just getting started and want to make sure I’m looking at the big picture. Any insight would be appreciated.