Father/Son REI Strategy

[Ryan Leake]

Hi there - thanks in advance for taking the time to consider my situation!

The situation:

My dad is 75 years old and looking to retire in the next year. Currently, he is an apartment renter in Marin County, CA. He likes his place, but doesn't love it and would be open to relocating around the area. He has $100,000-$150,000 in the bank that is ready to be invested, rather than get eaten up by inflation. Granted he has been conservative with his money and rarely invested it up to this point - I am trying my best to inform him on the value of investing in real estate. I have ran several different investing strategies by him and we've narrowed it down to two possibilities - house hack a 2-3 unit property in San Rafael, Novato, or Petaluma or buy one or two SFR in a hybrid market out-of-state that will likely have positive cash-flow and decent appreciation overtime. It's also important to note that he qualifies for VA financing.

On top of that, I am also actively educating myself and storing capital for my first real estate investment. I feel as if I have accumulated enough knowledge to make either strategy mentioned above work, and I hope to deploy some of my own capital to begin my investing journey. An additional consideration is that I hold a CA real estate license. That said, by adding my own capital, my hesitations are overcomplicating my dad's first real estate investment and adding any possible risk towards our positive relationship.

The questions:

1) Given the situation, do you see one strategy or the other (house-hack or out-of-state) as a clear favorite?

2) Is it wiser to combine our capital to invest in a property together or seek out REI opportunities independently from my dad?

Appreciate any & all insights provided! If there is other information that I can provide to paint a fuller picture then please let me know in the comments. Thanks!