All Forum Posts by: Susan Maneck

That may depend on what your definition of a decent lifestyle is. With my PhD I never earned more than 60K, but I was living in Mississippi where I lived in a 1700 square foot house which I bought for 30K (and eventually acquired 9!)  There are things you can do in other parts of the country with 400K that you can't do in LA. Having said that, I found when I retired I needed a regular income and my rental income wasn't regular enough, especially not duing the pandemic. I intended to wait until I was 70 to collect Social Security, but after a year and half came to realize assets and income were not the same thing, and I needed both. Still, in this young man's case he needs to decide first what he wants to do and where he wants to do it. I don't think LA is any place to be unemployed. 

If I was 27 and had 400K saved, I'd say I was already on my feet! That money won't last that long if he stays in LA but there are areas of the country where he could buy lots of properties with what he has and not even have to take out a loan (which unemployed he wouldn't qualify for anyhow.) I think the real question, though, is what does he want to do with the rest of his life besides "escape the matrix?" Escape to where and do what? That is what should guide what he does with his money. He's in a very enviable position for a young person. He has enouh money to do what he wants and not so much that he can get away with doing nothing long term. 

If you are unemployed, do you want to stay in LA? The first way to escape the matrix might be to move. Others have suggested investing out of state, but personally I won't invest in an area I don't know. There are states where you could buy a small multi with the money you have and pay cash. How about living in one unit and renting out the others? In the meantime put your money in a high-interest savings account, but remember no more than 250K in any single account. Since I live in California and own property in Mississippi, I keep my money in PayPal Savings. That way I can easily move money to my property manager when needed. 

You didn't mention how many square feet are being covered by vinyl flooring. I've lived both in Mississippi and Tahoe, and so far as I can tell the prices are a bit higher than I would pay in Mississippi but less than Tahoe. That is sort of what I would expect in Reno. 

 The flood insurance on that property is likely to be through the roof. Keep in mind what happened with Hurricane Katrina. I'm reluctant to buy on the Mississippi coast for that reasons. 

 Yeah, I'm pretty much the same way. I invest in Jackson because that is what I know and where I have a property manager. I would be reluctant to buy a multi there unless it was on the Fondren-Bellahaven area, though. 

Start keeping your eye out now. Are you only looking for properties in the Gulfport area? 

Do you mean 3000 Square feet? Not any tiny homes in Mississippi. 

I recommend Dove Realty if it is not too big of an operation: 

(601) 238-3287

I've seen the bigger property managers leave properties empty for months and in Jackson that is disastorous. The owner's husband is a handiman so you don't get nickled and dimed for her contacting repairmen. 

Well, keep in mind that Jackson has most of the hospitals in the state, a trend which is likely to continue thanks to the fact that the refusal to extend Medicare has led to the closure of many of the rural hospitals. So STRs serving the medical community do have potential, but admittedly Jackson isn't where you would ordinarily go on vacation. And unlike the rest of Jackson houses in the Fondren and Bellhaven areas aren't that cheap.