Best ROI for $20,000 without a lot of work

[Brad Bellstedt]

Lets pretend for a minute that you're me. (You lucky devil you...Lol) 

You live in Las Vegas where the median home sale price is $300,000+ and your wife and her mother (who rents a room in your current home) don't want to leave your current home to continue investing. That means, you need 20%+ for your next down payment. In Las Vegas, that's going to be $40,000-$60,000. (Then there's closing costs, repairs, etc. etc.) Waiting around to bank that kind of money will take WAY too long to achieve your goal of owning 5 SFRs free and clear in the next 23 years. (Currently you owe $75,000 on a rental property and $275,000 on your primary residence) 

You have equity in property #1 but your wife and her mother who also own that house, don't want to touch the equity. (So that's not an option. Remember, the goal is to have 5 paid off properties in 23 years.)

You have about $20,000 in the bank earning next to nothing in interest that's ready to be deployed. You're aware that there are multiple ways to get a return on that money without the obstacle or inconveniences of $40,000+ down for a down payment, moving, or self managing a rental. Some of the options you are aware of include:

1. Lending that money to fellow investors as a hard money lender or within a crowd funding portfolio of an established hard money lender. 

2. Buying land and selling it with seller financing. 

3. Buying inexpensive properties (possibly condo/townhome or SFRs in a less desirable neighborhoods or in one of the smaller towns with an hour of the city) and selling it with seller financing. 

4. Getting involved with a real estate syndication company. 

5. Buying tax liens.

(If there are better options I have not listed here, please feel free to make suggestions)

So what do you do? 

(Notice "Leave your $20,000 in the bank" is not a listed option.)

You're ready to let that $20,000 start working for you but which option is best? Which is most profitable? Which requires the least amount of your time/effort? And which one can be used most effectively to move you closer to your goal of owning 5 properties free and clear in the next 23 years? (You'll be 50 by then and ready to retire) 

In an effort to give you a more full picture of the situation you find yourself in, lets add to this that you make about $60,000/year after expenses as a licensed real estate agent. What do you do now?