I'm 66 years old, I have 345,000 in assets, $340 social security!
Springfield, OR · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 0 votes
What would you do if you had these assets and such a limited income? Actually my investments might be earning me about $500.00 a month.
Hello, I'm new to this forum: I've never owned property, I have about $100,000 of my money invested in a mutual fund and municipals. I don't feel very comfortable with mutual funds! I've been staying with a frenemy for very cheap but would like my own place. I've wondered about a duplex, and living on one side, I've wondered about buying a house that has a converted garage apartment or a mother-in-law unit that I would live in. It's really scary to do anything with this money. I don't know how I'd manage as a landlord, actually I'd probably pay for management and I'd want to pay off the property completely. I'm in Lane County Oregon, the market is going crazy here.
@Gail Roberts I think the Oregon market is overheated right now. That being said, if you plan your real estate investments so that you are getting income regardless if the market is going up or down, you can relax a bit when things turn course again. There is more to things than just how much you have to invest.
Decide which kind of investor you want to be (SFR, Commercial, Land, Tax Liens, HML, Multi-Family, Notes, Fix & Flip, Buy & Hold, "Subject To", apartments, duplexes, assisted living, REOs, Foreclosures, Short Sales), etc.. Decide how much money you have access to, & the zip codes, city or state you want to focus on. That will determine the next step. Outline where you want to be in five years. Put it all in writing. Start working your plan. There are plenty of people around to help you each step of the way.
Welcome to bigger pockets Gail!
The first step i would take is finding someone who you can trust that is already involved in real estate. Preferably someone that you already know. You could ask for their help on investing in something like a duplex or something similar just like you said. You could follow that up by shopping around for property managers, checking their referrals and customer satisfaction.
@Gail Roberts I think the Oregon market is overheated right now. That being said, if you plan your real estate investments so that you are getting income regardless if the market is going up or down, you can relax a bit when things turn course again. There is more to things than just how much you have to invest.
Decide which kind of investor you want to be (SFR, Commercial, Land, Tax Liens, HML, Multi-Family, Notes, Fix & Flip, Buy & Hold, "Subject To", apartments, duplexes, assisted living, REOs, Foreclosures, Short Sales), etc.. Decide how much money you have access to, & the zip codes, city or state you want to focus on. That will determine the next step. Outline where you want to be in five years. Put it all in writing. Start working your plan. There are plenty of people around to help you each step of the way.
Thanks for all of your ideas, I'm going to look carefully at all that you've written. I also wonder if I'd do just as well not touching my money, but I do need a place to live.
@Gail Roberts , not to pry, but to try to help.
You seem to be looking for a new retirement plan/strategy beginning at age 66? Why the change of course at this time? What was your retirement plan before finding BP?
You say you have $100,000 of your assets in mutual funds & muni bonds earning $500/mo (that sounds like a 6% yield to me). What is the other $245,000 doing? Are you earning a yield there?
If you read up on BP on investing in rental income properties (with our without a property manager), you'll see folks that like the passive income that rentals provide. Owning a $250,000 rental house free and clear might yield $2000 passive income? (sorry, I don't know Oregon markets). You'll also read about investors that try and buy 4 such rental homes/properties with 25% down payment and 75% borrowed mortgages, to make their money earn more wealth through the leverage.
Or, if you're good at hospitality, maybe you should look at a MIL apartment.....you could run a miniature short term rental business (read up on short term and vacation rentals and AirBNB type rentals).
good luck.
Thanks for your note: I hadn't really had much of a plan for retirement! I hadn't had a very successful working life and didn't have enough sense to get into housing earlier on here in Oregon! The other $245,000 is just sitting around and I wonder if I can go through my life span, housed with some income from this money? I've thought about a duplex, but at this point couldn't do any upkeep myself due to chronic neck pain, I may have been able to move ahead easier without the health issues? I'm afraid to do anything with the money and I'd like to get my money out of the mutual funds eventually! At times I've thought about annuities. I'm even interested in these 55 plus home parks as a long term living solution, though the space rents keep going up on these and they are vulnerable to development. Thanks for the responses!
@Gail Roberts , I'm not really qualified to be giving financial planning advice (I'm just an amateur real estate enthusiast.)
You have $100,000 earning 6% yield in mutual funds (about $500/mo income), but you're fearful of this investment. You have $245,000 saved and not earning any yield/interest, because you seem to be "risk-averse". You're attracted to annuities, because that sounds low-risk and guaranteed (and you don't have to guess at out-living the annuity amount. (I haven't researched those lately, but I know that they're over-priced because the salesperson earns (something like 10%) on your investment. Be careful; do your due diligence and ask a trusted friend or family member for a 2nd opinion).
Real estate investors are here, trying to earn 10 to 20% returns (or so) on real estate, instead of settling for 1% in a savings account or 6-8% in mutual funds. But, it's a risk vs. reward proposition. It isn't for everyone. It is only a good solution for you if you can learn/research and judge that the reward is worth it for you, even if it's uncertain.
There are age-appropriate investments in stock mutual funds and bond mutual funds that could reasonably safely yield you 6% on your $345,000 nest egg. Could you live on $21000 per year $1750 per month), plus your SS check, if that included renting a place?
Best wishes to you.
You mention that you want to do something with the money you have. It sounds like you have already decided that where your money is at now is not the right place for you. You also mentioned that you never owned a property before and that you have limited help with fixing property and maintenance should something go wrong. Property investment can be challenging if you don't have the knowledge and skills beforehand to make the right decision. If your retire and want to invest your money in something tangible (real estate) that will meet your current goals, I would just recommend to spend about 3-5 months learning/obtaining the foundations of real estate investing. From there, you can then have the confidence to get out there and network with folks in the area who may have a solid deal for you. It doesn't sound like your plan is to go out there and start flipping homes or buy a bunch of rentals so networking with wholesalers who heavily market for off market deals are probably your best bet at getting something below market value and yield nice rent income. I would recommend 2-4 units where you can afford to get a property management to manage your units and be profitable. Again it really depends on where you want to go. You seem to be on right path. Best of luck...
Again, thank you very much for your responses and I'm going to look at these carefully! I think there are some very good thoughts here!