How do I Scale from Here

[Andrew Katz]

I have done 2 house hacks. They have decent cash flow, but cash flow isn't super important important to me in my investing journey right now. I'd like to build up some equity, but I'm struggling to find value-add properties (and get offers accepted). I don't have enough money to buy all cash, and I don't have enough experience to partner with someone. What should my next steps be? Here are the options I thought up:

Option 1: Save up money for a few more years until I have enough to buy a place all cash from a wholesaler

Option 2: Aggressively pay down one of my mortgages (~$440k left at 6%) and cash out refinance in a few years to buy a place all cash
from a wholesaler

Option 3: Buy another house hack

All 3 of these will require me to put my value-all dreams on hold for a few years. Does anyone else have suggestions of other options I could pursue? I'd prefer to keep my investing local to Chicago right now.