Where to stash money short term (1-2 years)

[LJC]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forums but have been a fan of the blog for a few years. I've recently inherited $17,000 and probably will have another $20,000 coming when the estate is settled in the next 6 months. My husband and I also save about another $4,000 per month. I had been putting the extra toward our mortgage ($118,000 at 3.65% with 10 years left) but am considering real estate investing. We both max out our 401ks and IRAs and have about $460,000 in Vanguard and Fidelity index funds (401k, IRAs). We are 45 and 48 with 6 kids ages 7-20. We pay about $7000/year for oldest kid's college and the rest will have free in state tuition thanks to geographic arbitrage. I still have $155,000 of student loan debt at 2.65% interest (12 years left).  I am considering real estate to diversify our portfolio. We live in a college town so rental market is good. Questions are: am I on the right track of investing before paying off the mortgage? (Student loan is a no brainer) Is it a good idea to diversify with rentals and if so, where should I stash the cash until we are ready to invest in 1-2 years?

[BuildingmyFIRE]

If you want to diversify with real estate, I would suggest a REIT, and not wading into rental properties directly.  Depending on what state you live in, liabilities for landlords can be severe, and the margin is not actually that great.  I was a landlord for about five years and that was enough for me. 

You'll hear different things from different people here, but I don't think its worth the headache.  Park the money in the Vanguard total market index fund, don't touch it, and watch it grow.  The best part is, it won't call you at 10pm on a Friday night because the bathroom is flooding or 6am on Monday morning because there's no hot water!  :)

[remizidae]

With 6 kids, a well-funded 529 would be my first priority. I know you're hoping that the kids will go to in-state schools, but you can't really make that decision for them this early--or at all! With so many kids, there's a very high chance that one or more of them will decide to go to a more prestigious/specialized college, or just be desperate to get out of state and get some space from the family. So, if you're paying for the oldest one's college, you'd better be ready to pay for the others too.