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like i always say housing costs are housing costs whether you rent or own.
there are benefits and disadvantages to both.
Good news: he will charge me half
Your point well taken. On the other hand, even if the eventual sale of this place gives me enough of a profit to cover my upgrades repairs (not including the total $500/mo it costs for me to live here), I will have lived in a nice situation for far less than it would cost to rent. I expect some return, as I'm a mile from a well known college. Here's hoping.
As said everyone has a different situation. Unfortunately for the immediate future one has to face retirement as a chess game and strategically plan their moves.
We purchased a very small duplex, while rather small for a family of four at 1250 square feet it has a great location. Our plan is to let our tenants pay for our taxes and expenses when I retire (home will be paid for).
We purchased a very small duplex, while rather small for a family of four at 1250 square feet it has a great location. Our plan is to let our tenants pay for our taxes and expenses when I retire (home will be paid for).
I would LOVE to do this. In fact, that is what I looked for before buying this bank-owned house. I live next to a college and a duplex would've been so smart, but there were none on the market.
My BIL grew up in a household of six kids in the same size duplex as yours. The house was owned by a grandparent who lived on the other side, alone. This family of 8 had 3 bedrooms and a tiny livingroom. Today each of those grown kids has a portfolio that would make your head spin, and fabulous careers. Just relating this story in case anyone thinks that living in a small place produces disadvantaged people!
I would LOVE to do this. In fact, that is what I looked for before buying this bank-owned house. I live next to a college and a duplex would've been so smart, but there were none on the market.
My BIL grew up in a household of six kids in the same size duplex as yours. The house was owned by a grandparent who lived on the other side, alone. This family of 8 had 3 bedrooms and a tiny livingroom. Today each of those grown kids has a portfolio that would make your head spin, and fabulous careers. Just relating this story in case anyone thinks that living in a small place produces disadvantaged people!
It's not small for us but compared to our friends and family it is, everyone has seemed to buy into bigger is better. We are happy that is all that counts.
We thought about our future and getting priced out of our location at retirement. Even though we could have afforded a bigger home, we went with a duplex in the great location. It has proven to have been a wise choice.
As unorthodox as it is now at this time, it makes great sense to look for that rental or retirement home now. Rates are at historic lows and home prices are also at or approaching ten year lows in some areas.
Granted this thinking got a lot of people in trouble during the boom, but for those with cash and credit the time could not be any better
As said everyone has a different situation. Unfortunately for the immediate future one has to face retirement as a chess game and strategically plan their moves.
We purchased a very small duplex, while rather small for a family of four at 1250 square feet it has a great location. Our plan is to let our tenants pay for our taxes and expenses when I retire (home will be paid for).
thats an example of how it doesnt matter what you invest in to get the income to support your cost of housing.
in effect your tenants are paying your rent,since if you werent living their that would be another rental bringing in more cash flow.
your in effect getting your rent paid with real estate, im doing it with investments in equities, gold and bonds. the point is it can be done in many different ways,its all a means to the same end .
you dont have to own it you only have to be able to support the costs and the increases .
Bad news from my son the contractor: I need a new roof by spring.
Someone say money pit???
Ask him if a thick coat [or maybe two coats] of 'Elastomeric' paint would work. It will not get you 20-years of now roof life, bu tit should get you at least 5-years.
We discovered a great value 1 1/2 miles from the water in Southern California. Leisure World in Seal Beach is an oldie (50 years) but a goody. We sold our comfortable Indiana home & paid $110K for a 2 bedroom unit here.
This development has 6000 units, 1 BR starting around $70K. The fees on our unit include all maintenance (appliances too), 24 hour security, bus services, landscaping, paid water, a 9 hole golf course, pools, & 6 club houses with lots of activities. Including our property taxes, our monthly bill is under $310.
Main Street in downtown Seal Beach is a half mile of shops & restaurants, which ends at a great fishing pier. Leisure World makes up 1/3 of the population of Seal Beach.
Part of the reason for the low cost of purchase at Leisure World is the requirement to pay cash (no mortgage) to purchase your unit. You are buying a share in a Mutual Corporation that is directed by shareholders. In our case, that was not a problem.
While some of the units are dated, most have been upgraded over the years. I have been a director and a property manager at several different associations over the years & I am impressed with how well this development is managed & how well engineered it is.
If you are looking for an affordable place in a small town, with a good climate, that is close to many amenities, check out Leisure World in Seal Beach.
We purchased a very small duplex, while rather small for a family of four at 1250 square feet it has a great location. Our plan is to let our tenants pay for our taxes and expenses when I retire (home will be paid for).
I had relatives who did this. Moved into an investment duplex they had owned after their home was sold thinking they could travel. Found they absolutely could NOT tolerate tenants. Water running, footsteps, noise, etc. Got rid of the tenants and left it vacant. Regretted to their dying day they had sold their single-family home.
Having had tenants for over 30 years, there is NO WAY I would ever have anyone in my house now but family. Son and roommates rented for a while and now son and dil. If they go, maybe my sister would rent. If not, I sell or rent both units and move into a high-rise. Tenants are the MOST ANNOYING people in the world. In the 30 years I had tenants, there was only one couple who knew their boundaries. They were great. Rented from me for four or five years, bought a house. Sold that house several years later and rented from me again. Wonderful tenants. The rest - fuhgeddaboutit. Doors always opening and closing, noise, loud stereos, overnight guests short and long-term, one guy actually moved his girlfriend in without telling me, kids coming over to do laundry weekends on your dime (water), letting complete strangers (to me) use the place while they're on vacation and not telling you about it, and on and on and on. Nope, no thanks. If you've never had tenants before, it's a big change.
The irony was, no matter how well tenants were prescreened and we discussed issues ahead of time, the items I had particularly stressed were important to me were EXACTLY what they chose to ignore while here. Always.
Last edited by Ariadne22; 12-28-2011 at 06:31 PM..
ill second that , having dealt with tenants for 25 years now ,the last thing i would want to do in retirement is deal with tenants again.
to me thats not retirement as its only passive until its not. the aggrevation when you get that tenant that turns bad can take its toll on you. the stress is even greater if you need that rent to make ends meet when the paychecks stop and your retired.. one thing about tenants is its generally not even a question of when divorce,job loss or illness hit ,its just a question of when and how bad will you take a hit.
if you landlord long enough its a given and its nothing i would want to deal with as i get older and older. my portfolio doesnt call me at 2:00 am to tell me the heats out or the toilets over flowing .
one thing i want to clarify too is that if you have a multi family dwelling ,even if the tenant is covering costs for the entire building your not living free. your cost is the income or rent your giving up by living in an otherwise rentable apartment so in effect yes you are paying rent even as the owner. your cost is always what the apartment would fetch on the open market. if you moved back in with mom you would have all the rental incomes but since you need a place to live in effect your renting from yourself .
there is no such thing as a free ride.
everything is just a trade off.
the house i own is fully paid for but it still is costing me the return im not getting on the money i have tied up in the house . thats about 10k a year in a
tax free municipal bond and thats part of my costs.
if expenses run 10k a year and the income given up is 10k a year my real cost of ownership is 20k a year. its no different when you live in an apartment in a multi family dwelling even if you own it. the rent your not getting is like the interest im not getting.
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-28-2011 at 06:47 PM..
^^^Indeed, rent both units and live elsewhere. At least you can turn off the phone and they won't be pounding on your door. Tenants are a pain. And, of course, today there is no guarantee you'll get your rent - no matter who the tenant is. If my dil loses her job, I'm SOL. So, in the back of my mind, I'm always keeping money in reserve for that possibility. Ya' never know.
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We found a Gem on the Beach
