Should I get into rental real estate? My personal story & data

[John Melenski]

Hi Biggerpockets community,

I would like your input on my personal situation and whether real estate investing might be a suitable avenue to achieve my goals.  The reason I'm researching this avenue is despite saving for 5-10 years via conventional retirement vehicles, I've come to the conclusion that without some further active action by myself I won't be able to live the same lifestyle I currently live in retirement. I also want to retire around age 50-55 comfortable, which I would define as 150k/year in a lower cost city, and the retirement plans aren't good until my 60s.

That is my goal, nothing more or nothing less.

About me:

I'm a mid-30s single without kids working in the Pacific Northwest , making around 190k on a W2.

To help you understand my mentality, When I moved here several years back, I did not buy a house which in the appreciation mindset was a mistake.  I currently rent a place for $2700 instead of buying the same place for $800k, and my rational was the back of the napkin math stated the mortgage payment - principal was higher than rent, and continues to be.

I did not consider appreciation, but I guess one shouldn't count on it.  I see other people still buying and renting at these numbers though, so maybe I'm missing something.

I tend to be a do-it-yourself type of guy.  I buy/sell my vehicles on Craigslist, and don't use a dealer.  I replace my own light fixtures and broken appliances.  I rented my property without a PM. 

Current income, investing and retirement strategy:

I currently have a stable job which makes $190k.  Out of this expense, $2500 goes to rent, which ends up being $3000 into housing after all utilities and other related crap and insurance is involved.  Car payment is around $250.  I have minimal to no other expenses.  Usually $2-3k/month takes care of all shopping/groceries/gas/entertainment.

I invest through my works retirement plans. I save annually ~$65k maxing out a Roth IRA/401k/HSA. Given much of this is after-tax income there really isn't much spending money left each month, as take-home is only 6k, and I'm single at the top marginal tax rate. That all gets rolled into SP/500.

However, I have about 100k in a brokerage account. ("rainy day fund").

Real estate experience:

When I was young (early 20s) I lost $60k buying a house and having to sell two years later to move for a job.  I sold that one.

I do still own another  low-value home from my previous city ($~350k) which I was forced to rent out when I moved because I was under-water on the mortgage at the time ($180k). It's come back up but after a couple tenants and a few learning experiences, operations are going well and the capital gains exemption window has expired, so I've left it as a rental even though it's sub-optimal as one (acreage doesn't bring money).

Obviously, I've felt the pain and know there's risks.

Compromises and options

I suspect investing activity would require re-deploying of retirement capital as I'm basically barely paying expenses right now on $6k take-home.    A large contributor to that is the $5k of take-home being deployed to qualified retirement accounts

I do not feel removal of any money from a qualified plan is an appropriate option, even though there's a reasonable amount of money there right now.

Therefore, any gains from rental activities would have to exceed what the S&P 500 is doing, which has treated me well.

Why am I asking though?  It seems housing has a component of "leverage" that has many folks bypassing my savings rate while spending more.

Goals

My goals are 15-20 years from now (mid-50s) to be able to retire early, have fun, while maintaining a lifestyle and income.  I've realized simply having $1-2 million in a 401k doesn't go very far, nor is it accessible until your 60s.

What are your thoughts?  Are rentals a good strategy for me?  If so, which investment strategy are you favoring?

Thanks for your advice.