I need help deciding what to do for investment

[Helder M Da Silva Santos]

Hello everyone.

New to BP, and i have learned a lot by reading different posts and watching helpful videos. So thank you for all you do here.

A little about me, I am married, just got our first baby, (one month old), and currently employed. 

My goal is to cut on the amount i work and stay home more with wife and help raise the baby. 

Currently we live in Seattle and are thinking about moving to a different state. We have no idea where to go to, but something warmer and affordable would be ideal, in a good neighborhood, so this is our first dilemma. - we have visited Austin and loved it there, and my wife loves Florida. 

We currently own a house in Seattle, we bought it 8 years ago, and we owe a little over $160k , i recently asked a bank institution for a HELOC loan and should be getting about $180k equity in the house to invest.

In the beginning of the year we purchased a house in Detroit thru Morris invest. Its payed for (with our savings) and we are still waiting to have the remodel completed and to get lit eased, the estimate for the lease given to us was $700 to $850. I noticed some posts here about trouble with what it feels like a scam from Morris invest, so I'm hoping we don't get in the same boat. 

At this point we don't know what to do because maybe we are afraid of loosing what we have built so far in savings and equity, but also because we have a new member of the family that we want to make sure he has a good future. We have been thinking about using the $180k and some of the savings and purchase a couple more investment properties and rent them. We have been looking on doing this our self or using roofstock or Morris or any other good turn key company. We have been looking at the Austin market which now is almost as expensive as Seattle or at the Florida market, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville to move and live and also invest. If we leave Seattle our house should rent anywhere between $1600 to $2000 a month and we pay $800 for the mortgage. 

If any of you is willing to advice or suggest on ideas and thoughts of what would be a good route to financial freedom and becoming a successful real estate investor.   

Thank you for reading,

Helder

[Rivy S.]

I would advise you to stay far away from Morris Invest, just search them on the site to see the trouble others are having with them. If you bought a house with them in Detroit (I didn't know they operated in Detroit) I would visit to see if renovations have even begun.  Based on other stories, I would suspect not. If not, find a new manager ASAP.