You could deploy that money elsewhere and buy a few  smaller (or at least less expensive) homes in a friendlier market and come out way ahead unless you are content with just waiting for the market to appreciate.  

Buy and hold notes (performing and non performing)3.

@Adam ShaIf you can buy a home for cheaper than rent then that is a red flag.

If you were able to buy 2 duplexes as replacements then you would own MORE property so that any market appreciation is magnified and you might have MORE loan principle to pay down further building wealth that you don't see just by looking at cash-flow. 

One court case says that you don't have a business until you buy your first property.

If I could rewind 15 years and start over again, here are the things I would focus on:1) Buy an easy cosmetic rehab.

I would much rather not buy anything less than a 2 bdr, but i'm also seeing  1 bdr condos for about the same price but in nicer areas.    

We’d also like to buy a house to move into in the near future and of course dropping $100k of savings into property 2 would delay that.

I say this even as I believe SFR dips this current year--which means it's a buying opportunity-- because I believe as much as mortgage "demand increases".

Hi Brandon,It's likely more effective to look for private lenders at those ranges as most investors buy cash or use private money at those ranges.