Hello Real Estate mogul mustachians,
I have until recently only considered stocks and bonds in my investment portfolio as I value a hands off approach. However, I have met two new friends who are active in condo rentals in the Columbus, OH area, and they are encouraging me to do it, too. I have to admit, it is a lot of fun to look at rentals and open houses, and the cash flow would be nice. Plus, I realize how attractive today's interest rates still are, historically speaking.
As I've been doing research, it seems the real money is in the sweat equity and self-management of the unit(s). This is what my friends are doing. Given that I have an active 3 year old and a busy job, I have neither the time nor the desire to deal with tenants or repair/damage/upgrade issues. I would definitely be looking at a property manager, which would eat into my profits, obviously.
Should I listen to my inner voice and stick to stocks/bonds, or should I try this out instead? Any of you hands off investors, and are you still getting good returns? What would you do differently?