One key retirement question revolves around housing. Where will you live? Will you stay where you are or move? If moving, within the same city or elsewhere? And what type of house? We have been considering these questions as it seems absurd to have two of us and a cat live in a 3,600 square foot house. As of now, our two kids, my son-in-law, and my daughter's four cats … [Read more...]
Savings Tips for the Top Five Housing-Related Costs
I have heard a couple philosophies on the best ways to save money. One school of thought is that you need to focus on the "big three" expenses -- housing, transportation, and food. The proponents of this line of thinking say that if you get these right, the rest of your spending takes care of itself. Another school of thought says watching "small spending" is just as … [Read more...]
How I Picked My Properties and a Rental Income Update
It's been over four years since I shared the Financial Details of My Real Estate Investments. I've been wanting to give an update for some time and since I've just completed the process of getting all my numbers together for tax purposes, I thought this would be the year to do so. In addition, I thought I'd share the highlights of the process I used to select my … [Read more...]
Why You Should Invest in Real Estate
I've been meaning to do a real estate post for some time now. I'm finally getting to it with this one. In my walks around the neighborhood I've been listening to The ABCs of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss and really enjoying it. The book is a good, solid primer on real estate investing and I wish I had read it before I got … [Read more...]
How to Invest in Private Real Estate Lending
I have mentioned from time to time that I'm making 10% back on money ($125k so far) I've loaned to a friend who's buying real estate. Some of you more perceptive (and interested) readers have picked up on this and sent me notes. Here's an example of one I received recently: From reading your money blog I see that one of your income streams comes from lending money to a … [Read more...]
The Pros, Cons, and Alternatives of a 1031 Exchange
I have been considering various options for my real estate investments. My preference would be to buy more rental units, but both markets I'd consider (where my current places are in Grand Rapids, Michigan or my current city of Colorado Springs) are waaaaaaay over-priced IMO. And I'm more of a value buyer when it comes to real estate. I could just call it quits and sell … [Read more...]
Looking at Real Estate and the Parade of Homes
I LOVE looking at real estate. Many people consider it boring, but to me there are so many decisions to be made in making a great house, and so much creativity tied up into it, that I just love it. In fact, if I had to start my life over again I would choose a career in real estate. But that's for another post. Because of this love, over the years I have spent a … [Read more...]
Seven Ways to Invest in Real Estate to Get Across the Retirement Finish Line
As regular readers know, I'm a big fan of real estate investing. For those who don't know, you can get caught up by reading why I got started in real estate, how my real estate investing plan came into being, and the results I've had from real estate investing. The summary: It's been awesome and I wish I had bought more when I had the chance! I've been thinking about … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know about Fundrise and DiversyFund
As you probably know, I'm a big fan of real estate investing. I currently own three properties with five buildings and a total of 14 units. We purchased them when we lived in Michigan a few years after the real estate meltdown of 2007-2009 and as a result we got them at great prices. As such, they churn off a good amount of income plus have appreciated quite nicely. I … [Read more...]
Retirement Housing Decisions
For the vast majority of my life, where I lived was decided for me by one factor or another. Initially, wherever my parents lived, I lived. Then it was school. The colleges I went to (undergrad and grad) were in specific cities/areas I had to live in. And finally, there was my career. Of course I could choose who to work for, but if I picked the employers I did, then I … [Read more...]
