What would you do….

[Trevor Hartsock]

1.  You have 65K cash to spend.

2.  You can't get conventional financing for another year due to a short sale.

3.  You're soon to be homeless and jobless.

4.  You will be moving to the Pensacola/Milton area due to the potential job/RE opportunities/and nice weather.  (easier to be homeless in a warmer climate!)

The above is happening to me, as I work overseas and will soon be back home.  I've been trying to think of the best way to slay this dragon.  I can come up with three options.

1.  Acquire a small duplex outside of town with a combo of cash and/or private/seller financing.  Using the rent to cover most/all my costs to own the property.  Then refinance when I can to get my capital back/pay off private lenders.  

2.  Acquire a small home for cash, possibly a mild fixer upper.  Refinance when I can to get my money back to use on another investment.

3.  Rent a place and and make somebody's pockets bigger, but not mine.

Since future income is unknown I'm trying to avoid a monthly payment, I realize taxes and insurance will never go away but unless the property produces money I'm hesitant to borrow any money.  In both cases I want my money back to use on future deals.  

What would you guys do?  Am I thinking about this correctly?