Look for off-market deals, seller financing opportunities, or even house hacking a small multi-family with an FHA loan (3.5% down) if you plan to live in one unit.For creative financing, explore seller financing, subject-to deals, and lease options.

Investing in yourself is a key. 

I'm very new to investing and weighing which options would benefit me the most.Option 1:  Use the cash as down payment on another primary residence and rent out the current.

Do they own real estate investments?

@Dan Wang FWIW - In the 1031 space we see very few investors who make the switch from "active" commercial investing to "active" residential investing. 

This seems like a huge untapped opportunity. 

Since you prioritize appreciation over cash flow, focus on DFW areas with strong job growth, infrastructure investment, and limited housing supply—such as Frisco, Arlington, and Rockwall.

We have some leads on assets in the humboldt / jackson area in tennessee and looking to connect with investors in the area.

We reduce the number of investment properties to consider by about 99.6% using our data mining software.

:-D  It is the opportunity cost brotha man.