If you had $400k and 20+ years, what would be your strategy?

Question

I’m just here learning. Currently own no real estate, but through the sale of some stock in a business I will have about $400k to invest in the near future that I want to maximize. I have other retirement funds growing (which I plan to continue maxing out every year) and a healthy salary and this would just be a way to diversify long term.

I also have a friend who owns 200+ doors and will be spending some time with him soon, hoping he can mentor me and show me the ropes, fingers crossed. Funny enough we both just moved from the west coast to the east coast within 90 minutes of each other and didn’t even plan it, so that may be meant to be.

Figured I would start with a fun thought experiment just to get some ideas percolating in my mind. I won’t be doing anything with the money for about a year and a half to solidify my plans and because I will have a baby coming and that will be my sole focus for a bit.

Only caveat is along the way I want to buy my own home, but it can start off as an investment property - happy to live in one for a couple of years and fix it up, etc.

If you were starting now, you had $400k in cash and a long runway in front of you - what would be your strategy? Buy one good property and hold? BRRRR again and again, buying into bigger properties along the way? Diversify and buy 2-3 different size/value properties? Fix and flip? Other?

Thanks for playing!

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

question should be do I want to be a land lord or is there other RE niches like financing that could be implemented.. If the answer to landlord is yes.. then just do what 90% of those on BP do go out and buy the best valued rentals and launch its not complicated.

although for a long runway my personal opinion is to buy upscale or at least in the MSA you choose figure out median house price and buy at that price or above. Reason being thats where homeowners are also buying and usually have better schools.. Long term wealth in RE is made with appreciation if your going to do what 99% of Bp members do Max leverage minimal cash flow need big #s of doors to make any real money.

Nicholas Rigali · Answer

Thanks all! I won’t be touching the money for a while while we focus on the baby so I have lots of time to learn and plan.

I think I’ll look into a duplex or triplex type deal or possibly buying one bigger, nicer home and 1-2 smaller units.

Also hopefully my friend will show me the ropes, I’m sure he won’t mind sharing what he’s learned! Excited to learn.

Aaron Zimmerman · Answer

I would probably house hack each year with the funds you have until you run out of money. You can easily buy several nice properties at 5-10% down. This is by far the easiest way to get into real estate from a financial perspective

Bryce Jamison · Answer

With that much time and capital it's really whatever strategy you enjoy the most. I'd advise spending the next 6-12 months educating your self on  different strategies through websites like this and its family of books and podcast and talking to your investor buddy. After that time you may have more clarity on what route you want to pursue first.

Assuming all consumer debt is paid off and a chunky emergency fund is in place, I'd spend an extra 400K adding LTRs in the Alamance County NC area to my portfolio. Specifically I'd be targeting 3-4 bd houses, preferably in Mebane, in the 300K range that I'm going to submit offer at 250 and hope to land less than 275 with 20-25% down.

That strategy will only bring in an extra couple grand cashflow a year though, so you may want to pursue other strategies like flipping or S/MTRs that bring in more cash, but require a significantly greater time investment.

Appreciation is more important to me than cashflow though. My long term goal is to have enough cash, non retirement savings, and property equity to live off until I hit 59.5 and can start pulling from retirement.

Wale Lawal · Answer

@Nicholas Rigali

With $400K, a solid salary, and a long runway, you’re in a great spot to build serious wealth through real estate. I'd start with a house hack or live-in value-add property—duplex or triplex—so you benefit from owner-occupied financing and get hands-on experience. Then, scale into BRRRR or small multifamily deals, keeping $50K–$100K in reserves to stay liquid and flexible. Over time, use equity and cash flow to diversify—maybe a flip or even partner on larger deals. With your timeline and mentor, you're set to build a strong, scalable portfolio.

Good luck!

Wale — Houston-based investor agent working with buy-and-hold clients.

Caleb Brown · Answer

Since you want to house hack I would buy a 2-4 unit. Easy way to start, after a year move out. During that time you need to pinpoint a strategy that fits you. Meet with agents, contractors, property managers, lenders. Get an idea of what's needed ad what the process will be. BRRRs, flips, turnkey, multi family, etc all can work with what you have saved but each is different. Each has their own risks and benefits. Personally I would tackle BRRRs or flips. As time went I would 1031 those into multi family and scale up.

If you had $400k and 20+ years, what would be your strategy?

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