76% cash savings acct.
18% diversified stock brokerage acct.
6% Fidelity Contra & Spartan 500 Index funds
18% diversified stock brokerage acct.
6% Fidelity Contra & Spartan 500 Index funds
Emergency Fund
- Thread starter bluelifer
- Start date
My wife made a believer out of me. I have one house in SA. It is worth about 230k. I don't owe anything on it. If I sold it and put that dough in the bank I'd be getting maybe a half percent interest on it. Since it is sitting there I get 1600 a month for it. (I've rented it since 2012.) Yeah the occasional fix it and the HOA fees along with the ridiculous school taxes plus the management fees but I still pocket decent dough. Not to mention the write offs. We are not settled as to where we want to live yet but as soon as I do I am going to buy another one or two, or three, maybe not as expensive though but with the more expensive properties there is usually less headaches getting your dough. The key for you is to find a realtor that won't gouge you. Don't hesitate purchasing rentals. Keep it insured and keep it up and the dough will be regular. Start smaller if you want but start. Heck I'd buy a trailer and rent it if that is all I could do. The big thing is keep it insured. Try to buy something that has a good furnace, roof, water heater, A/C,..the rest won't cost much to fix and you will have time to accumulate some dough if you save it and don't live on it. I guarantee if you keep one for a year you will buy another...Be Good
Why do I want my emergency fund to do better? Liquidity is essential. Property isn't liquid or cheap.
Thanks for the feedback. Taking a serious re-evaluation at what you have just stated.
As long as you are happy I have no dog in your situation. I made a statement. The other statement I will make is; how liquid do you need to be? There are a lot more options. Be Good
I think buying rental homes is great in theory and is a great way for an investor to make money.
But... I hate what rental homes can do to neighborhoods. One or two rental homes in a small neighborhood can really make that neighborhood go down hill when the renter doesn't care what the house and yard looks like. And I understand that isn't doesn't happen in all rental situations.
Neighborhoods with homes from the 130s to the 170s in Lexington (like mine) seem to have a lot of people who move to a bigger home and keep their older home and rent it out. In a few months the upkeep of the house and it surroundings go way down hill.
I totally agree it can be a great way to make money, but I'm not a fan.
Owners can do the exact same thing. Get a ish-hole family move in next door and there go your property values.
Very true. But the likelihood seems much higher with renters. They have no skin in the game. When they run out of money or leave, they can just go. But in the wake they have kept property values of the surrounding homes lower by not taking care of the house or property and have not provided a positive to the neighborhood.
You need to figure out your monthly expenses and then figure a safe emergency fund is 6 months of expenses. Save until you get to that point and then start investing after that (stocks, funds, properties, etc...). Six months for you could be different than six months for me.
I have a rental property that is coming up at the end of the week. Moving out after two years. They let the back yard go to crap with over growth but the yard was always cut. I will put it in my new lease that they cannot let the beds over grow. It was my fault not theirs so I cannot be mad. Went inside for the 1st time in awhile and was very happy with the condition it was in. Starting this weekend to clean, paint and fix the landscaping to rent by mid August.
Still looking for rental properties daily and might be doing my first flip. Inside track on a house in Crescent Hill for under $100,000. Should be $190,000 if cleaned, rehab, updated etc. Thinking $40,000 in and list at $199,900. Going in halves with BIL but $20,000 each after everything isnt bad.
Still looking for rental properties daily and might be doing my first flip. Inside track on a house in Crescent Hill for under $100,000. Should be $190,000 if cleaned, rehab, updated etc. Thinking $40,000 in and list at $199,900. Going in halves with BIL but $20,000 each after everything isnt bad.