How best to invest $25K?

[Christine Palmer]

Hi, I'm a newbie who hopes to be able to eventually create a passive income stream through buying small condos to manage as rental units. I'm also interested in finding out about other ways to invest with less capital (less than $25k). I am a new homeowner, and we just purchased our home in Los Angeles as a cash buyer with no mortgage. I just took out a $100k HELOC to build a pool in our new house, but am considering using part of it to reinvest in real estate. Looking for advice for how to best invest between $25k - $50k. Should I consider out of state properties to buy/rehab/rent? What cities? Thank you!!!