I'm totally torn between slowly building up a healthy chunk of liquid cash (for investing, emergencies, whatever) or gaining instant equity (and lots of it).

The criteria I am looking for are as follows:-Licensed, and Insured in Florida-Has at least a project manager, and a foreman underneath him/her so that the actual G.C. themselves is only focused on growing their business-Is willing to do a larger volume of projects with "discounts" on their profit end of each project me we do in exchange for more projects-Understands that nothing will be paid for until the project is done.I haven't gotten much in the way of leads at the local REIA's as of now, and I need someone.  

The truth is that all of my assets are tied up in this house, and I'd like them to be liquid. 

I am slowly liquidating my portfolio as tenants leave.You may want to look at DC and follow the areas on the edge of gentrification. 

However trying to find fianacing is a much larger one.

I suggest a good emergency fund or be able to liquidate enough funds to cover when you don't have the income.

I'm looking at moving into a newer, larger house.

And also, to know how your market is pricing so you know your numbers inside and out.Do you think that taking other wholesaler's deals from Craigslist (or wherever) and posting them, say on BP Marketplace, is a way of adding value because you are networking them to a larger audience. 

However on occasion we have been known to go above the 70% rule in the case of a higher end asset class with larger ARV's above the 800K range (Atlanta specific).

My question revolves around peoples' opinions on how to best prepare myself to invest in income producing properties in the next 3-4 years in regards to 401K v IRA v highly liquid personal stock portfolio.I have read many posts on here referring to using self-directed traditional or roth IRA's as the vehicle through which to invest in real estate, but I am curious if I have not yet started a roth would it be better to start a post-tax savings/ investment account so that I can be ready to jump on a deal nearly immediately if one presents itself?