Getting started during Corona Virus

[Ben Schwartz]

My wife and I have been listening and watching a lot of Bigger Pockets and other RE investment podcasts and videos over the past year. We were literally going through the stages of getting a heloc for a Brrrr as corona hit so we decided to hold off because things were just too crazy in the beginning. Considering the current circumstances in the world and in the States do you guys think its a good idea to get started now since things have settled a bit or wait till next year? Ive heard that the market might go down a bit next year so holding off would be a better choice. I know we can tell the future and this is the big question that everyone is asking but with everyone's knowledge I was just hoping you guys could shed some light. We have a VA loan on a town home in Orange County Ca. with roughly $160,000 give or take in equity. We have roughly $20k in cash and another $15k in stocks that I have no problem cashing them out if needed. We both have been lucky enough to keep our jobs through this Corona pandemic. We do have two car loans but other than that we have no other debt with a credit score above 800. We were planning to buy Brrrr properties in NW Florida just because we use to live there, have a lot of family and friends in the area, might move back in the future and waaaaay cheaper than southern California. So with that in mind if you were me how(and maybe more importantly, when) would you start your RE business?? Were are not only considering the Brrrr strategy and it doesn't have to be in Florida. We are interested in tax sales and possibly even house hacking with renting out our current town home. However with RE in this area of California being so expensive were not sure if that's an option unless we sell our town home which we would rather not do.

Thank you so much for any advice you all can give!!