heynot sure if this is the correct sub-forum but i'l give it a go. planning on buying a property, long term rental, all cash. now, say i have around 500$ coming in to my account every month (this is in theory, after all expenses are paid and taking into account vacancy, small repairs, capex etc'). current plan is buy a property every once a while (at least every 2 years, could be less once mortgages will be an option for me, non us citizen starting to invest here. talking about properties in the range of 60-80k). letting the money sit in the account until i buy my next property does not seem optimal to me, but on the other hand investing it in the stock market or something like that does not sound good either because i will need that money in a short period. perhaps i'm overthinking it but i'm trying to see i'm leaving any money on the floor so to speak :)what do people around here do? 

Short answer no.

I got it under contract as a short sale for a great price and was getting super pumped about the buy.

W2 jobs make it much easier for financing, otherwise you’ll need to wait a couple years most likely.I was in your shoes a few short years ago and bought my first rental a year out of college.

particular for short-term rental.

If you have your personal goals for REI laid out, be ready with a short "elevator" pitch to let folks know what you are looking to do, but I would just listen more than anything for now.

When I book short term rentals online the first and most influential thing is the photos. 

On one hand I want to suggest looking into opening a HELOC on your current home rather than selling, this will give you access to some capital for your down payment funds on your next purchase and not require you to move into a rental for a short amount of time as you transition (something i'm guessing wouldn't be extremely fun especially with a little one either on the way or just arrived).Once you have adequate down payment funds, you could simply watch for the right thing to come along from the comfort of your own home.

Building now will raise the value of my house--I may not be able to refinance it on a fixed income in a few, short years.

I'm an agent, I do some work with investors in the Short Term Rental market, my boyfriend has an Airbnb that we have professionally managed, and I have a decent working knowledge of the local (ever changing) rules.