What to do with 100k

[Puett Willcox]

I'm a newbie and looking for advice. My wife has recently received 100k from her employer. We are considering purchasing our second income property. My wife likes the idea of paying cash for a property in the mid-west and not having a loan. Our agent brought up a good idea that I like but my wife is hesitant about. Instead of spending all 100k on 1 door, buy 5 doors with 20k down on each. Thoughts?

[Reed Rickenbach]

Quote from @Puett Willcox:

Thanks for the advice William. Our goal is long term buy and holds. We are going to be empty nesters in a few years and would like to quit or jobs and move to South America and using the revenue to supplement some of our income. I'm retired military so I have a pension that can provide nicely in cheaper areas of the world.

If this is the end goal within a few years, and you don't plan on actively investing for 5+ years to build out a team/structure, you may be better off as a passive investor from the start. Although total returns are higher in real estate, cash on cash returns are very similar to publicly traded REITs or dividend ETFs.