Investment Advice needed...

[Thinking-man]

Originally Posted by VJP

Damn...you and I sound exactly alike (career, income, assets, personal life), except I am 2 years younger than you. When I want to add risk, I mix up my play brokerage account and add riskier stocks. I am heavy on international and small cap ETFs and have started to slowly accumulate dividend paying assets, so I can ladder them into getting my money to pay me over time, with the goal that in about 25-30 years, that dividend will replace my income and I can stop working.

That's my strategy. I thought of doing this your way but there are some inherent risks - a large one being the costs that can burden a condo owner if a building has high % of foreclosures and/or needs major facelift work. Another reason I declined to choose this route is that idea of being a remote landlord/hiring a property manager, how much do you net in the end? The economy by and large is not strong in Florida, thought I don't know where you are looking. Finally, I don't like parking money in illiquid assets like a house (I already have one, that's enough). We personally have a goal of upgrading to a bigger house in the next 5-7 years, probably buying 2 newer cars in the next 7 years, and so that alone would be a hundred grand I need, and so I wouldn't because my personal goals don't allow me to be that tied up.

I'm also unsure of the potential upside, and to do a deal like this for cashflow, you could just park a hundred grand in duke energy and take the dividends of 6% - you'd net the same by the time you're done with admin costs/taxes/hassle.

If you haven't looked at ETFs and having at least some of your money out of your 401k in the market, you should educate yourself and get on it, you have enough income to afford to make mistakes initially (again, don't know how well versed you are).

Good luck, you are in a pretty good spot to do well, IMO.

Hey, its been 8 years lol how have things changed for you since 2011? I wonder if we're still closely aligned...🙂

[galaxyhi]

Originally Posted by Thinking-man

Hey, its been 8 years lol how have things changed for you since 2011? I wonder if we're still closely aligned...🙂

OP, i wonder if you DID buy a property in Florida or not.

I WAS going to reply as to the property buying, but this is an old thread, and it does tell us if you did or didn't.

I see you want to compare your stats here with the update.

I WAS going to say i have an inherited rental property in Florida. It was built paid for, so inherited paid for.

We have a great property manager company and have had various agents managing the property. It has 2 units. Florida requires out of state owners to hire a local property manager.
The current manager started off bad, but wised up. I mean she bought a brand new fridge ( at our expense of course) for one unit. Then the tenant trashed it so the next stove she bought was a good condition used stive off craigslist, saving lots of money. Thats just an example.

To set up for the property mgr, we had to install an easy access $3k account for them to access in emergency, or to do things like replace the appliances.
We also have to outright pay for major repairs ( such as the a/c unit last year) and the roof ( done 3 years ago). We are currently providing washer &dryer, but after replacing thise a few times, we are thinking about NOT providing them. A $100-150 washer off CL isnt too bad, but a brand new one frequently costs money. It is NOT required to provide them by law, but if they are there at the signing of the lease, must be maintained. A stive amd fridge IS required. We provide them as a convenience to the tenant.

Of course we must maintain insurance and pay the taxes.

The rest of the time the checks roll in, and they are generally always rented. When changing tenants, we lose 2 months rent, one for the mgmt fee, one for empty unit. Plus any costs to replace or paint the units.

Id NOT buy a condo/th, though. If you want to do it go sfh or duplex/triplex. Condos are fraught with problems if too many people are foreclosed on and or empty units. Then your share of condo expenses can go up. I know too many peopke who git stuck with worthless condos with high fees during real estate downturns. Just a warning. Id stick SFH, or preferably a dup/tri. That way if one unit is empty therez likely to still be income every month, especially if lease starts are offset.

So....do yell, did you buy one or not?

Best of luck if you do/did.

If you did how has it been???

Enquiring minds want to know....