Author Topic: Just retired @ 27  (Read 17350 times)

mm1970

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Re: Just retired @ 27
« Reply #50 on: March 29, 2015, 08:19:52 AM »
I work in finance and frequently talk to people who were bankrupted by having  nearly everything invested in real estate.

The two main reasons for this are: Leverage and Timing.

Almost everyone who got burned had bad timing and poor use of leverage.  OP shouldn't have either issue.

You're right in that he should have backup plans, cash reserves, and be careful, but I wouldn't worry about his situation too much, personally, especially since he's willing to put in the work.  He'll need to keep working to improve it, but that's part of his plan.
These are very good points.  I have an old boss.  He's unemployed right now. He's gotten laid off many times in his 30+ years in the work force.  But he's frugal and has saved enough that he doesn't really care, and usually enjoys 6 - 18 months off between jobs to fix up his homes.

Every time we have lunch, he will recommend ways to reduce my taxes.  Example: he has an orchard.  People come to pick the fruit and keep them watered and pay them.  But he gets to depreciate the property.  Another example: a rental home.

I think they are great ideas.  But I have 2 young kids and we bought our current (and only) house darned near the peak.  I don't feel comfortable with the amount of leverage required to get a second home or property.  The difference between when we bought and the bottom of the market in our area was $300k.

mm1970

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Re: Just retired @ 27
« Reply #51 on: March 29, 2015, 08:23:04 AM »
working 4 jobs is very doable. some of my friends went into i-banking after school and push 100+ hrs a week, every week for years, and its really hard work. now that sounds impossible without the body breaking down. i was able to do this by getting jobs that fit in my schedule, and were easy. 
my full time finance job was normal 9-5 gig. i came in early at 7, ate lunch at my desk, and left by 3 everyday
  -i actually only did real 'work' for a few hours, most time was spent on my side income streams. my side streams at the time consisted of sitting on craigslist all day and hitting refresh. i would flip anything for profit, or take any free item. and dont even get me started on the 'gigs' section. also i worked for chacha- if you remember them. before smartphones caught on- you could text any question to chacha for 99cents. i was the guy sitting at my cube answering your questions for 10 cents a pop.
my part time job as a promotional model had a very flexible schedule but i most worked on weekday evenings for 3-4 hours at a time
my second full time job was marketing for a cigarette company. technically it was a job, but all i did was go to the bars on thurs, fri, sat nites and get paid to talk to people. we had other tasks to complete thruout the week but it was all work i could complete at my finance job.
and i worked as a handyman for people i knew, and worked on my own properties as i got them.
you might say i am a bad employee.. i really am the worst employee, thats why i had to get out of that game. i was fired/ laid off from damn near every job ive ever had due to my weird antics. lol

As far as your detroit scenerio happening here, it already has to a large extent. most the middle class jobs left and now its so many poor people. but people survive- they make it work, they dont all turn homeless. there is no cheaper city to move to. this is the end of the line lol.  my rents really cant go much lower in my current hood.  like i said the problem i would have is more of bad people consuming my hood, which would make my turnover go thru the roof and maintenance costs go up, fixing more things from worse tenants. but thats why in the future im going to diversify neighborhoods. the city is too diverse for everyone to go bust. that would be more of an apocalyptic scenario.

if i was legit retired @ 27, with only a couple properties, i might need a lot of help where to go next. but im not.
this is a lifestyle thing for me, that ive been doing since i was a little kid, its not a website i found and decided to change my spending.
people here act like you need to plan out your entire life before you do it.
but this is just the way i live, so all the pieces just fall into place as i go.
theres a time to invest in other people (stocks-when youre old) and theirs a time to invest in yourself- while you still can.

I think for sure it's MUCH easier to do that in your 20's.  I remember having almost limitless energy then.  Full time job in the Navy, taking graduate classes 2x a week for 3 hours, and playing as much volleyball as possible (2-3 nights a week, plus weekends).  That is totally the time to do it!  I've worked with many guys who never went to school and kind of "want to".  But they find themselves mid-to-late 30's with 3 kids and a wife and a job.  Trying to get a BS with all that is challenging, and most never manage it.

You are right, your homes are adorable.  Definitely the cuteness factor!