I retired in my mid-50s and live a comfortable life, grateful every day for the path I chose.Looking back, I’m forever thankful to my partner who encouraged me to take that leap of faith and move to Ohio.

And those factors of risk exposure and weighted returns, drastically change how much capital I'd be comfortable to outlay, for a $40k annual return. 

Get out of your comfort zone.

(This well could be a generational thing and whatever the comfort level of the guest is.)

If you go RBTR, here are a few key criteria I've seen to assure comfort of living and lower vacancy / turnover:- at least 400sqft per tenant and no more than 2 tenants to 1 full bath -excess parking where folks aren't blocking each other in and you're not getting complaints from your neighbors about overtaking the street parking.

I'd recommend searching by zip and interviewing an agent or two to see who you're most comfortable with.

A HELOC or cash-out refinance is definitely worth exploring if you want to free up capital for more investments, but make sure it fits your goals and comfort level.

✅ Interest rates you're comfortable with?

Get out of your comfort zone.

Additionally, I would like to attempt to do the process Owner/Builder with subcontracting work out as well as doing some of the work I'm comfortable with (I have some experience with bathroom & kitchen remodeling an am not new to the construction industry).