Hi Everyone- I've been reading this blog for a little over a year now and am looking for some advice.
I am a single 29 year old female living very frugally in Philadelphia and debating whether or not I should purchase a home in the $150,000-$200,000 range in an up and coming neighborhood near Center City.
I make a modest 43,000 at my day job and approximately $15,000 teaching yoga on the side. My monthly fixed expenses are as follows:
Rent: $400
Utilities: $100
Student Loan: $200 ($8,000 left to pay off at 6.5% interest, some of which I can write off)
Food/Travel: $350
Gas: $25 (I bike 8 months out of the year and have no car payment)
I am at the point in my life where I would like to move to a warmer climate in about a year but feel as though having a rowhome as a rental property that my family would generously manage would be a wise decision. I have $10,000 as a down payment and a near perfect credit score. I would also plan on paying more than the minimum monthly payment on the mortgage until I was ready to rent it out. Financial calculators tell me my mortgage would be approximately $700 a month and I believe I could rent the house for at least $1,100 a month. I suppose it would not hurt to mention that I max out a Roth IRA, have about $5,000 in other Vanguard investments, grow a lot of my own food and only buy second hand but I do love to travel. I do not plan on having children and my goal is to be FI (spend my days teaching yoga, not in front of a computer) by 40. I welcome any and all comments/advice. Thank you to all for the inspiration and personal stories you share on this blog.