I have an interesting financial situation: I just turned 29, have been at my (first and only) engineering job for 2.5 years, got an amazing deal on an investment property last summer, and I'm considering FIRE. Like, now (okay, mid-May).
The impetus for this change is two-fold:
1) When I applied to my job, I really thought it was my dream job. However, I've been unhappy since the start. I'm pretty sure that I'm getting laid off in two weeks and assuming a two weeks notice, that means I'll be done around 5/10.
2) I'm in the process of doing a cash-out re-finance, which should be done around the same time (eek). The cash-out will allow me to partially pay off my dad who lent me $100k for the majority of the downpayment (he's charging me 4%), and increase the earning potential of the property by about $1000.
Monthly breakdown after the refi:
Rental Income: $6,200
Mortgage: $2,600 (the cash-out is included)
Personal Loan 1: $ 800
Personal Loan 2: $ 487
Property Manager: $ 403
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Monthly Profit: $1,910 (While the story of this investment property is interesting, it's not necessarily relevant to this post)
So, after the refi, the house will gross about $1910 per month. I have about $37k in the bank in cash (I know this amount is silly, but before I knew I was getting laid off I started saving for another downpayment) and about $29k in retirement accounts. If I pay my dad $50k with the cash-out I should be done with the remaining payments in 5-ish years. At that point I'll be making an extra $800 per month for a total rental income of $2710 per month. If the refi is large enough, I may be able to pay him back more and be making the extra $800 a year or two sooner.
As a fairly frugal mustachian (although, granted I've been the victim of lifestyle inflation recently), it's completely do-able for me to live off about $1,600 per month without feeling like I'm sacrificing in any big way. Initially, there will be a small surplus of about $310 that I'm taking in every month from the rental, after paying off my dad the surplus will increase to about $1110 per month. Additionally, as a fairly curious person I fully expect to cultivate side hobbies that will bring in additional income. Also, I have my retirement accounts and the money in the bank (although I'll probably move at least half of it into ETFs and index funds), which will still be there as fall-backs that I hopefully won't have to dip into (much?) during this time.
I know shit happens with rental houses and there's potential issues with damages, turn-over, etc. However, running the numbers it seems like I don't need to get a new job(!). I don't plan on having kids, I don't have a car (or a huge desire to buy one), my housing is rent-controlled... Is there something big that I'm missing? Is it possible that I can actually retire at 29?!?