We have about $150k liquid. We live in Washington but had hoped to invest in states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, where the prices are much more reasonable. We have a residential remodel company and are willing/able to rehab houses we pick up To add value. With rates going up and so much uncertainty around the market we're wondering if there's any suggestions for the best way to invest our money? Buy and hold a couple rentals? BRRR? Invest in a syndication or something like that? Anything else?
Anyyyy and all advice is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!
Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
1w
Why not just use it to invest in your own business? I assume your business model is that you do this for other homeowners, not just yourself. 150k can float a lot of material and handle some marketing in your current market, which is probably a much safer and more profitable bet than a random house 1500 miles away (how will you remodel the house yourself in Texas?)
Have you looked at Eastern WA? The tax rates are lower and you can pick up single family or duplex that cash flows. Florida and Texas have high taxes that limit cash flow.
Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
1w
Why not just use it to invest in your own business? I assume your business model is that you do this for other homeowners, not just yourself. 150k can float a lot of material and handle some marketing in your current market, which is probably a much safer and more profitable bet than a random house 1500 miles away (how will you remodel the house yourself in Texas?)
Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
1w
I agree ^^. Out of state can be doable but you can increase your footprint with your business. I would also be curious about doing flips locally where you are. You can do the rehab in house
Investor · Hatboro, PA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 866 votes
1w
Hey @Kayla Peymanaving a remodeling business gives you some great options. I think the bigger question is what you want this money to do for you, and how involved you want to be.
If you enjoy rehabbing and want to build a rental portfolio, your experience could serve you well. Like one of the others said here you could also invest in your own business. If you want more time back, passive investing may fit better. I owned 15 rentals before moving to passive investments through my investing club because my goals changed.
For any rental, the numbers have to work with today's financing and healthy reserves. With a BRRRR, make sure you can comfortably hold it if the refinance falls short.
No need to rush all $150K into something. Start with your goals, then choose the strategy that supports them.
Accountant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2025 · 391 posts · 155 votes
1w
You’re in a strong position, @Kayla Peyman The remodel experience gives you a real advantage in evaluating renovation scope and creating value. The main caution is not to choose Texas, Florida, or Georgia simply because the purchase prices look lower. Property taxes, insurance, contractor oversight, landlord laws, and neighborhood-level rental demand can vary widely, so the best market is usually the one where the full numbers work and you can build a dependable local team.
With $150,000, it may be safer to avoid spreading the capital across several thinly funded deals. A carefully underwritten buy-and-hold or light value-add property could let you use your renovation skills while keeping meaningful reserves. A BRRRR can work, but only if the purchase price, rehab budget, stabilized rent, and conservative refinance value still leave room for delays or a lower appraisal. A syndication offers more passive diversification, but it also gives you less control and requires close review of the sponsor, fees, debt, assumptions, and exit plan.
A practical next step would be to pick one or two target markets, analyze a large sample of deals, speak with local property managers and insurance agents, and build an out-of-state team before making an offer. Underwrite higher vacancy, repairs, taxes, insurance, and financing costs, and keep enough liquidity for both the project and personal emergencies. Uncertainty does not necessarily mean waiting on the sidelines—it means buying only when the deal works under conservative assumptions and does not depend on rates falling or appreciation rescuing it. You already have a valuable skill set and a solid capital base, so take your time, stay disciplined, and best of luck finding the right opportunity for your family.
Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 942 votes
1w
Quote from @Kayla Peyman:
Hello!
We have about $150k liquid. We live in Washington but had hoped to invest in states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, where the prices are much more reasonable. We have a residential remodel company and are willing/able to rehab houses we pick up To add value. With rates going up and so much uncertainty around the market we're wondering if there's any suggestions for the best way to invest our money? Buy and hold a couple rentals? BRRR? Invest in a syndication or something like that? Anything else?
Anyyyy and all advice is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!
With $150K and your own remodeling company, I'd seriously look at value-add or BRRRR before jumping into a syndication. Your ability to control rehab costs can give you an edge, but I'd keep plenty of cash for reserves and surprises. Since you're already open to investing out of state, I'd also compare the Midwest market, where lower entry prices can give you more room to rehab and still have a deal that cash flows.
Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 707 posts · 517 votes
1w
The remodel company is the whole conversation and I would slow down on it before anything else gets decided.
You have an edge most people on this forum would pay real money for. You can take a damaged house that scares everybody else and make it worth something. That is the actual arbitrage in this business - not a cheaper state, not a hotter market. It is being able to buy the thing nobody else wants because you can fix it.
And that edge does not travel. A crew in Washington is worth nothing in Texas. The hour you buy in Georgia you become an absentee owner paying retail for rehab, same as every other out of state buyer, except you kept all of the risk and gave up the only thing that made you different.
So I would answer a different question first: is the Washington market actually unworkable for you, or is it only unworkable the way everybody uses it? Because the price of entry looks very different when you can buy distressed. Most of what makes a market feel impossible is that retail buyers have to buy finished houses. You do not.
IF YOU GO OUT OF STATE ANYWAY, HERE IS THE HONEST VERSION
Your edge does not disappear. It changes shape, and the new shape is smaller but real. You cannot swing the hammer, but you can read a scope of work, spot a padded bid, tell the difference between a contractor who is pricing the job and one who is pricing you, and know what a kitchen actually costs. No other remote buyer can do that. Most of them are getting robbed quietly and do not find out for two years.
So what you would be shopping for out of state is not a deal. It is a contractor, and you are far better equipped to evaluate one than almost anyone. Find that person first, give them a small job, and watch what happens. The deal comes after. People do this in the opposite order and that is why the stories end the way they do.
ON BRRRR AT TODAY'S RATES
The refinance is the entire deal and it is the part nobody models properly. Run the exit at a rate higher than today's and at an appraisal below what you expect, and see whether you still want it. If the numbers only work when the appraisal comes in exactly where you need it, you do not have a strategy, you have a hope. And if the refi leaves money in the deal, that is fine - just call it what it is rather than calling it BRRRR, because what you have done is buy a rental with a rehab, which is a perfectly good thing to have done.
ON SYNDICATION
Different asset class wearing real estate's clothes. You are not buying property, you are buying a person's judgment and their capital stack, and you have no control and limited information. Nothing wrong with that as a thing to own. But it uses none of your skills. If your money comes attached to an operator who can actually build, handing it to a stranger to deploy is the one option that wastes what you have.
THE PART I WOULD SAY TO ANYBODY WITH 150 LIQUID
Do not deploy all of it. The number of people who buy with everything they have and then meet a 14,000 dollar surprise in month four is larger than this forum makes it sound. Decide what stays in cash before you fall in love with a property, because afterwards you will negotiate with yourself about it.
I am in Memphis, few hundred doors, mostly Section 8, own crews and own management - so I am the version of this that stayed home and bought where the crews are. Happy to answer anything on the operations side if it is useful, including when the answer is that a deal does not work.
Since you already have a remodeling company and understand rehabs, I’d probably lean toward a value-add strategy where you can use that experience to your advantage. I personally wouldn’t put the full $150k into one deal though—keeping a solid cash reserve gives you room for overruns, vacancies, or another opportunity.
BRRRR or a buy-and-hold that needs renovation could make sense if the numbers work. I’m also in the business funding space, so I see investors use a combination of their own cash and business financing to avoid tying up all of their liquidity at once. Whatever route you take, I’d underwrite the deal conservatively and make sure it still works if the rehab costs more or the exit takes longer than expected.
Real Estate Broker · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2019 · 326 posts · 203 votes
1w
With your remodeling background, I'd compare what you could create in equity through a rehab against buying something already rent-ready. For an out-of-state property, include local labor, travel, and ongoing property management in both scenarios. If you go the BRRRR route, how much cash would stay tied up if the refinance comes in lower than expected?
Paying to have things handled can leave you more time for your business, but your renovation experience could make taking on the work worthwhile. I’d compare a couple of actual properties on total cash invested and what you’d keep after expenses.
Hi. I'm with @JD Martin on this one. If your business is successful, I'd keep going there.
If you BRRRR you're going to get equity, not cash flow. And OOS is way tougher than advertised but your skillset could give you an advantage. It just won't make you any money in the short term.
Why not BRRRR locally? Because it's tough to invest in Washington? It's tough everywhere.
Technology · Member since 2023 · 63 posts · 26 votes
1w
Your remodeling company is a real edge, and it mostly disappears if you buy turnkey 2,000 miles away. I'd look at a BRRRR within driving distance, even if it means Eastern Washington, so you control rehab cost and timeline. Whatever you pick, keep 6+ months of reserves out of that $150K, because refi appraisals coming in low is the most common way BRRRRs stall right now.
Specialist · Redmond, WA · Member since 2026 · 16 posts · 4 votes
1w
I have some listings in WA I can share with you - Grays Harbor and Yakima areas. There's a lot of value in looking closer to home. Easier to keep eyes on your property manager. Even if you aren't interested, I'm happy to chat with you about what you're looking for an work through the process - I'm a Washingtonian as well :) DM anytime!
Real Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2023 · 642 posts · 333 votes
1w
Welcome to BiggerPockets! With $150K liquid and your own residential remodeling experience, you guys actually have a pretty significant advantage because you already understand one of the hardest parts of value-add investing. I’d spend some time researching multiple markets first and figure out which one best fits your investment goals, but once you find it, I’d hone in on that market, learn it extremely well, build your team and portfolio there, and expand later. I’m an investor and investor-friendly agent in Memphis, and with your background I'd definitely look at BRRRR here rather than automatically putting $150K into one or two turnkey rentals. Memphis is still a market where you can find properties that meet or exceed the 1% rule, force equity through renovations, and still benefit from appreciation over time when you buy in the right locations. We also have local hard money lenders that can finance 100% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab, with many investors getting into deals with around $10,000 out of pocket before refinancing into long-term financing, which means you wouldn't necessarily have to tie up anywhere close to your entire $150K to start building a portfolio. Your renovation background could also help you evaluate scopes and contractor bids much better than the average out-of-state investor. I'd start practicing now by analyzing Memphis properties, ARVs, realistic rents, rehab costs, expenses, and market trends and learning the overall layout of the city. At the same time, start building your boots-on-the-ground team with an investor-friendly agent who also owns rentals, a strong property manager, reliable general contractor, hard money lender, and long-term/DSCR lender so that when you're ready to pull the trigger, every piece is already in place. I wouldn't let higher rates or uncertainty completely freeze you—just make sure the property works with today's numbers instead of needing future rates or appreciation to save the deal. Feel free to reach out, talk soon!
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
1d
Welcome, Kayla, and a remodel company is a real edge, since you can price rehab yourselves instead of trusting a stranger's bid. Many investors at your size prefer a couple of buy and holds over a syndication, mainly because you keep control and can see exactly where the money sits.
One thing to test before picking states: your crew's advantage shrinks at a distance. Favor a market where you can line up a local GC and a reliable inspector, and carry a 10 to 15 percent rehab contingency on every deal.
As a comparison market, in my experience Columbus has single families in the $120K to $180K range, though rehab scope varies a lot house to house and not every deal pencils.
I enjoy networking with investors working through this, so feel free to connect and I'll see where I can help.
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