$170k Windfall-what would you do?

[Eddie Lehwald]

Hi everybody, I have an interesting situation on my hands:

I've recently sold a rental house here in Austin that experienced massive appreciation-I lived in it for 2 of the last 5 years and after all the fees etc. I walked away from the closing with a tax-free $140k. Coupled with $30k I already had saved up, that equals a big 'ole chunk of change. A windfall like this is potentially a once in a lifetime opportunity and I want to make sure that I don't waste it.

I'm in the very fortunate position of having so many possible options (BRRRR? Pay for flips with cash to raise even more capital? Small apt building? Down payments on several small MF? Something else that hasn't occurred to me?) that I don't quite know where to start, so I'd love to hear some input from the BP community on where to begin.

About me: My modest goal is to be netting $4-5k/month of passive income within the next three years, and then taking significant time off-a year or more-to travel. I've worked remodeling houses in the past so the ins, outs and surprises of rehabbing/flipping don't scare me too much. I've also been an accidental landlord (the aforementioned rental house), and I manage a property for my parents as well as the duplex in which I currently live, so I'm a relative newbie but not completely inexperienced.

I have fantastic credit, but not much in the way of verifiable income (self-employed musician=lenders run screaming). My girlfriend and I are house hacking so living expenses are basically nothing at this time.

The Austin market is hot hot hot right now so I've been looking in San Antonio and have started checking out the local REIA meetings there; it seems like a much friendlier climate from an investment standpoint.

So, in short my dilemma is...what's the first move? Right now it feels like a chess board with all the pieces in place, and the possibilities are endless-the whole thing depends on making a good start. What do you think? What would you do? I've been a forum lurker for a while now and I've seen really amazing insights come out of these discussions, so let me know your thoughts and/or if you're interested in talking about Austin or San Antonio opportunities!