How should I use $100K to maximize profits?

[Tiara Ferguson]

Hello guys! 

I am a 34 year old woman in Ohio pending a divorce and will have about $100k to start over and rebuild when the dust is settled in a few months. I've dabbled in several investment types with limited success (stocks, crypto, etc), and the only thing that paid off significantly was our marital home (it nearly doubled in value since 2018)! So I'd like to embark on my real estate investing journey to grow my money, and am curious as to how you all would go about doing this to achieve the best ROI! Here's my situation:

 My goal is to establish passive monthly income along with owning properties that accumulate in equity. I will not need this money immediately, so am open to either short term or long term strategies. 

I have a credit score of 738, make about $105k a year in base salary and also earn about $30k-50k annually in bonuses. I currently have $100k liquid and am saving an additional $4k per month. Additionally, I am in our marital home and can remain once the divorce finalizes, but if I decide to sell or refinance the home to get money out, I would have an additional $80k in funds from equity to use for whatever route I decide to pursue in real estate. 

I am totally new to real estate investing (other than the primary home we own), and know nothing about maintenance/repairs or the costs of contracting someone to do this on a potential home (my now ex was in the home renovation industry, so he took care of all this)-- but I have the expendable income that would allow me  to afford improving a property if it is  in need of a little care. I also would prefer to be hands-on since this would be my first investment property, so am primarily interested in real estate in the Columbus, OH market and other local surrounding areas. 

Any tips or insight would be extremely helpful!

[Jimmy Lieu]

Quote from @Tiara Ferguson:

Hello guys! 

I am a 34 year old woman in Ohio pending a divorce and will have about $100k to start over and rebuild when the dust is settled in a few months. I've dabbled in several investment types with limited success (stocks, crypto, etc), and the only thing that paid off significantly was our marital home (it nearly doubled in value since 2018)! So I'd like to embark on my real estate investing journey to grow my money, and am curious as to how you all would go about doing this to achieve the best ROI! Here's my situation:

 My goal is to establish passive monthly income along with owning properties that accumulate in equity. I will not need this money immediately, so am open to either short term or long term strategies. 

I have a credit score of 738, make about $105k a year in base salary and also earn about $30k-50k annually in bonuses. I currently have $100k liquid and am saving an additional $4k per month. Additionally, I am in our marital home and can remain once the divorce finalizes, but if I decide to sell or refinance the home to get money out, I would have an additional $80k in funds from equity to use for whatever route I decide to pursue in real estate. 

I am totally new to real estate investing (other than the primary home we own), and know nothing about maintenance/repairs or the costs of contracting someone to do this on a potential home (my now ex was in the home renovation industry, so he took care of all this)-- but I have the expendable income that would allow me  to afford improving a property if it is  in need of a little care. I also would prefer to be hands-on since this would be my first investment property, so am primarily interested in real estate in the Columbus, OH market and other local surrounding areas. 

Any tips or insight would be extremely helpful!

Hi Tiara, if you're looking to invest in real estate in a different market and want to get the best bang for your buck, I personally would recommend Columbus Ohio and as someone who works with a lot of out of state investors - there's so many catalysts for why you should invest here. Specifically, there's job growth (Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide, etc) and the population is growing (unlike Cleveland or Cincy). I really see Columbus Ohio as an extremely safe bet for the next 10-20 years. Plus, there's still so many positive cash flowing and 1% deals here in Columbus Ohio. Just a few weeks ago, I helped a client close on a deal getting them 20% cash on cash return. As a local investor and agent here in Columbus, let me know if you have any questions or want to connect!