jon's about to file for divorce

terrible idea considering neither of you know about real estate finance or construction/regular upkeep of an apt etc...

put your spare money in vanguards total stock market index or some field that you are educated in (e.g. if jon wanted to do a start-up or something).

i doubt you have great access to credit (esp considering you bought your house with an FHA loan with like 2% down) or have any familiarity with the legal framework of organizing an LLC, obtaining lending to the LLC to leverage you RE investment and write off depreciation/re taxes/loan interest etc... (to maintain more profitability) etc...

jon can buy homes with cash, hes not poor

[Cams Purple Lambo]

jon can buy homes with cash, hes not poor

rule 101 of real estate. you don't buy investment property with your own cash (solely) unless you're a dumbass.

leverage your buying power with borrowed money (for better ROI, tax consequences, etc...). More leverage the better (in investing in RE). LLC will shield you from liability etc... besides personal guarantees on the loans etc...

if you have extra money buy more investment properties or put it into the stock market. don't plunge all 200k of your savings to buy some shitty duplex in all cash (so dumb) more leverage = more profits from rent

[Cams Purple Lambo]

jon can buy homes with cash, hes not poor

see this

Consider the common real estate purchase requirement of a 20% down payment – or $100,000 on a $500,000 asset. When a buyer puts only 20% of the money down, and borrows the rest, is essentially using a relatively small percentage of his or her own funds to make the purchase; the majority is being provided by a lender. That's why real estate investors often refer to the 80% remainder of the purchase price as "other people's money": It is, in fact, being provided by someone else.

Assuming the property appreciates at 5% per year, the borrower's net worth from this purchase would grow to $525,000 in just 12 months. Comparing this gain to the gain from a purchase made outright, without any loan, highlights that value of the leveraging strategy. For example, the same borrower could have used the $100,000 to make a paid-in-full purchase of a $100,000 property.

Assuming the same 5% rate of appreciation, the buyer's net worth from the purchase would have increased $5,000 over the course of 12 months, versus $25,000 for the more expensive property. The $20,000 difference demonstrates the potential net worth increase provided through the employment of leverage. Now, picture that 5% gain every year for 20 years. Over time, the use of leverage can have a significant, positive impact on your net worth.