Trying to find a strategy but not sure what to do.

[Gerald Jarreau]

Background: I am 54 and have my house paid off (guessing around 250k in value). I have a condo with 37k of mortgage left (value about 160k). I have a job making about 60k per year. I have no car note. I rent the condo for 1200 (cash flow about $100 after expenses). I plan to retire in about 8 years (will have an old fashion pension, no problem there). I also have about 150k in stocks that I can sell to use for a purchase but am kind of scared to go all in on my first deal (I only rented the condo after inheriting the house and it wasn't something I really planned). I have another Roth IRA but can't touch it until 59.5 years old.

Problem: How to buy rental properties until retirement? I may be suffering from paralyses by analyses. I have been reading up on BRRRR and like the concept but if I start small, I will be buying cheap houses on piers (I hate those things) and in rough or ugly neighborhoods. If I go bigger and try a duplex/triplex, I might have to borrow some money so it wouldn't be a pure BRRRR. This is where I am stuck. I don't know what to buy. I guess they call that your "buy box"? I liked the idea of BRRRR because it seemed like the way to go if you don't have a lot of time but would like to buy a few properties. I would like to know if I am missing something obvious. Should I get a HELOC, or what would you do? Thanks for reading.