Best way to invest $40-60,000.

[Joel Fischer]

I already own 2 duplexes. I bought my first one as an owner occupied residence with 3.5% down and I am paying $200 a month in mortgage insurance. I bought my second duplex as an owner occupied residence and put down 15% (since I already owned a multi-family property, I couldn't do 3.5% down).

I am in the process of refinancing my first duplex to get out of PMI and take out some cash. My mortgage broker estimates I can take out somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000 on this refi. I have about $20,000 cash of my own to add, hopefully bringing the total I have to invest up to $60,000. I am looking at properties in the $250,000-$450,000 range.

I am not sure what the best next investment is... Should I use all of the cash I have to buy one multi-family property? Or should I use just a part of the cash I have ($12-15,000) to buy one single family home this year (owner occupied 3.5% down) then have cash left over to buy another SFR or maybe a multi-family property next year. I hope to keep using owner occupied financing, but unsure which is the best strategy since banks require me to put down 15% on a multi-family property compared to 3.5% on a single family residence.

Interested in opinions on this, or other ideas....