What savings amount is appropriate to get started?

[Scott A Smith]

Hi BP folks,

A bit of a long lead-in here, so please hang in with me - I lost my job at the end of 2017 as my company downsized my entire department.  My wife and I were making HH income of $160-190k in an average COL market (variable based on my bonus and her self-employment income which has increased from 45k to 60k over her first two years and is on track for at least 60k again in 2018.  From my severance, we have a nice cash windfall, and now have more liquidity than we've ever had. We have $25k for emergencies, and another $65k either in brokerage accounts or high interest savings/checking accounts, though we're pretty far behind in retirement savings due to some debt I had from the only other time I've been a landlord (a long story about getting screwed by a RE attorney/property manager from a home from my previous marriage), which has been paid off since 2013.

I've known about my unemployment since Thanksgiving and am trying to move up the corporate ladder, but am finding it difficult to progress to in-person interviews for job titles that are above anything I've had yet, but I am getting initial interviews for VP/EVP/SVP roles with recruiters. They are all roles that would require our relocation due to a shortage of roles in my field in our current town.  I mention this because I am trying to be realistic about my income needs for future RE goals.  If I go another few months without progressing, I am considering going for my RE license.  The problem is I live in an area that we'd like to relocate from, even though I grew up here and know the area quite well.  Neither of us are truly happy here, however.

If you were in our shoes, would you begin investing in a small MFH (if I could find one) in our current locale since I know what areas are worth investing in, or wait until I get a new job, or something else?  It seems easier to be a RE agent in an area you're already familiar with, but with such incredibly low inventory I'd imagine it's tough to make a living with all of the agent competition out there.

My gut tells me to just find wherever my new job is going to be and then look into the investment side of things.  I also think with an economic downturn on the horizon, it might make sense to get into property management or flipping once we're near the bottom of that downturn in a year or two.  I've always had interest in RE from a distance and with the uncertainty in my primary field, the interest is increasing.

I'd appreciate any thoughts from the BP community.  I've been incredibly pleased at how valuable the content and commenters have been since I started looking at this site.