I have a property I’m looking at in Missouri that’s about 1,400sqft, and not sure the difference between a Cash and a Novation offer. 

A cash out refi should take 2-3 weeks with most lenders, and you should have only an appraisal a credit report fee as upfront costs. 

Purchase price: $900,000 Cash invested: $15,000 6BB/3.5Bath 4000sf on 3.4 acres near several wedding venues.

It is hard to beat the appreciation, cashflow, tax benefit and the hedge it provides against inflation. 

I am considering buying the property in cash then hiring Servpro to fix the cigarette damage.

This way, your current rental stays a cash-flowing asset while providing leverage to grow your portfolio.

So, your focus may need to pivot from high rental cash flow to little to no cash flow as a rental with an appreciation upside.I would recommend taking your $150K to $200K and securing a solid equity position in something that will cover its expenses and maybe provide a small cash flow, but then is poised to appreciate nicely over the course of the next several years. 

The sale of our home will provide us with approximately $150,000 to allocate toward investments.At this stage, we feel most comfortable focusing on long-term rentals.

Are there providers you have worked with that you might suggest? 

Even if the rental has a decent cash flow with additional flood insurance, we're still not sure we want to take on that risk as we are out-of-state investors (planning to move back to KY in the future, but not now) and we don't like that it will potentially bring down the perceived value when we try to sell it in the future.The seller has never lived there and has not provided any information on if it has flooded before or not.