Updated about 8 hours ago on . Most recent reply

Looking to retire from my W2 in 8-10 years and want to get further into real estate
My wife and I have great paying W2 professional jobs but I'm 48 and looking to retire in 8-10 years. I want to transition into real estate to augment our 401k's so I don't have to keep my W2 job as long as most do. We have 3 kids in their teens with college plans as well. Our home will be paid off next year and we took out a HELOAN for a down payment and furnishings for another house that we just started short term renting. That said, I want to build my portfolio over the next 8-10 years, as noted, but I don't know the best way to finance this currently or what strategy (flip, buy and hold to rent, STR, BRRRR, etc.).
When we bought our home 19 years ago it was very dated and not kept up. I learned a lot from contractor friends and gutted the house, put in new wiring, insulation, and plumbing as well as added two additions. So, I am quite handy. As such, fix and flip is high on my radar. I also like the concept of multi-family rentals.
Right now my biggest issue is how to go about financing my next purchase as my wife does not want to further leverage our home again. We live in a rural area so there are not really any investors in the area, but there is a small city 45 minutes away which likely does (how to find investors). There is also a large Army installation about 40 minutes away that may be a good source of long-term or even mid-term renters.
Any thoughts/advise are appreciated!