Where to put $150k for 1-12 months with quick access to possibly buy a house?

[Sonos]

We have about $150k in cash from an inheritance we just received. It's currently sitting in our savings account.

Due to market conditions, the lot that our home sits on is worth a lot (har har). It's zoned multifamily, so we have developers licking their chops to put up three townhomes/skinny houses (which is exactly what is about to happen on the identical lot right next door to us...after they demolish the lovely old craftsman home sitting on it).

We could sell just our lot and move our house (that we love and have put a lot of work into) to a new, less expensive teardown/lot in our neighborhood, make a profit (which could very well be enough to DOUBLE our stache (even after adding in the inheritance) AND end up lowering our monthly mortgage payment).

This would shave years off of our roadmap to FI.

But, for all of this to happen, we need:
*the demand for our lot to stay high
*mortgage rates to not go up too much
*a teardown house or lot come available in our neighborhood at a reasonable price
*$150k available as the downpayment for the teardown house/lot (this is a max number)

There are not a lot of teardowns left in our neighborhood, so one could come on the market tomorrow or in a year or not for two years. Hence, we need quick access, but if it's a long wait, I don't want that $150k sitting around doing nothing.

Thoughts? We also have a $136k HELOC that sits untouched.

[JoJo]

What is your loss tolerance?

[talltexan]

Would it be possible to do some type of "like kind" exchange with your lot for another lot?

[Ryland]

Could be good to consider getting a line of credit to assist in the short term flexibility of the purchase. I think that will help a bit with the risk tolerance. Just noticed you may have come to that conclusion below too. May also want to consider a mix of stocks, bonds and a 1-year CD? Interest rates are low, but the assurance is a big plus. Those with your HELOC, could give you the flexibility you need with a nice growth potential.

[MDM]

This is similar to an emergency fund.  Given that, see Investment Order and follow the link to online banks currently offering the best deals.

[camerondawson51]

Hey Firette2020,

I was in a similar boat as you, and wanted to park some cash for easy access.

Decided the best route for me was online banks, i went through tangerine and they are offering a bonus interest for the first 3 months of 2017 of 2.83%.

Note: I am Canadian, however it might be worth looking at online banks in your country for a quick way to park some cash at a decent interest rate (many also offer sign up bonuses).

[BlueHouse]

Hey Firette2020,

I was in a similar boat as you, and wanted to park some cash for easy access.

Decided the best route for me was online banks, i went through tangerine and they are offering a bonus interest for the first 3 months of 2017 of 2.83%.

Note: I am Canadian, however it might be worth looking at online banks in your country for a quick way to park some cash at a decent interest rate (many also offer sign up bonuses).

I was going to suggest Ally Bank with 1% interest, but 2.83 beats that by a mile!