What's Your Strategy for a Passive Investor with $X to Invest

[Joshua Dorkin]

I've been thinking that it would be good to get a thread going where we explore some of the best ways for a passive investor to make some money in real estate. By passive, I'm talking about someone who doesn't want to actively run a property (would rather hire management) or who has no interest in managing rehabs (though would consider investing in them).

Lets assume that these investors are likely not sophisticated to start with, but over time, will get there.

With that in mind, lets look at the following cash scenarios and see what kinds of ideas we can come up with. How would you recommend they start out, and perhaps, what kind of ramp up would you recommend for their money over time?

0) Investor with $1,000 cash in the bank
1) Investor with $10,000 cash in the bank.
2) Investor with $25,000 cash in the bank
3) Investor with $50,000 cash in the bank
4) Investor with $100,000 cash in the bank
5) Investor with $500,000 cash in the bank

What would you recommend for each of these people?