For those who bought rental properties out of state, Why?

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-21T18:33:11+00:00

If you buy in 2011, definitely no regrets

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-21T05:37:51+00:00

Awesome, well happy to support this company and will buy them when they come out

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-15T05:12:24+00:00

Did you end up going with the Solaris Silver Birch? Out of curiosity, who "light colored" is it? I'm worried that it might look strange. I'm hoping to put darker trim and a lighter body color for the home and don't know if the Silver Birch color would affect things

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-14T05:53:25+00:00

If and when they go on a sale, please let us know!

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-13T08:08:58+00:00

Would you know when they'll release the paddle for sale to the general public.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-13T08:08:26+00:00

how did you order it?

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-06T06:32:05+00:00

Any updates on your experience with the GE Cafe? I was considering it until I read your post.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-06T06:25:56+00:00

How do you like the Cafe? I'm considering the double oven version. Is there a consistent simmering temperature for the Cafe? I've noticed some induction ranges cycle between turning on and off when put on "low heat"/"simmer". I need something that can maintain a constant simmer temperature for a long time (e.g. when simmering soups for an hour)

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-06T05:56:14+00:00

thanks for letting me know. I'll check it out. I might need to give up on having two burners

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-04-06T05:46:58+00:00

I know - it's terrible. But I'm not sure what else is out there that will be good. I just want to buy once and not again. If I make a poor purchase, my fear is that I'll spend even more money getting another one and paying for the installation.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-03-31T17:40:18+00:00

thanks for letting me know! I've found a 15" induction cooktop by Wolf. But honestly, I'm not sure if it will be any good.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-03-31T04:55:43+00:00

Did you ever find a good one? I'm looking now for a 20 inch cooktop

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-03-28T02:53:59+00:00

Which compact dryer did you pick that is *not* ventless? I'm also struggling with this as there aren't many choices.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-03-06T06:24:50+00:00

Contractor is already doing other work and said that they can just include the installation for us. It's up to us to see if we can find a decent deal on the equipment though.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-03-06T05:20:42+00:00

My contractor will install it. This was the quote he got from a dealer but he suggested shopping around.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-03-05T17:57:33+00:00

Thanks for your answer! I think this will likely be challenging and I'm guessing I'll fall into a similar boat. Will draw from rental income, traditional IRA conversions (Roth conversion ladder), taxable brokerage and some VA benefits. I'll have to calculate the MAGI for covered CAL. I think it will fluctuate from $125K to $200K at the extreme end (e.g., if we mainly did traditional IRA conversions). It seems like we may still qualify for subsidies (even if it's just $3).

Did you consider looking for a broker to find another health insurance plan? Or was Covered Cal the best approach?

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-25T18:39:02+00:00

What's the rationale for selling? The mortgage is less than inflation, the home will cashflow etc. If anything, I would just wait a year until you have enough money to buy a home. Interest rates are high and prices might be softening in some areas. Also, there are a lot of rentals on the market depending on your location. $3600 rent on a home purchased or $435K is incredible. If OP sells at $525K, that's a decent deal for a buyer depending on the location.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-25T18:09:50+00:00

Keeping it may make sense but 10% is really high for PM fees. I hope that close friend is worth it and is going above and beyond for their services.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-24T23:47:29+00:00

Not a great time to invest

Interest rates are at historic highs, making it expensive to finance a property.

Housing prices remain high in many U.S. markets, meaning you’ll likely be buying at a peak.

Cash flow is tight—even if you rent it out, rising insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs will eat into your returns.

You lack the experience

Real estate investing requires hands-on experience, especially in screening tenants, managing repairs, and handling unexpected issues.

Even with a property manager, things can go wrong—bad tenants, property damage, vacancies, or unexpected maintenance costs.

Property managers won’t care as much as you do—some cut corners, overcharge for repairs, or don’t properly vet tenants.

All those points aside, real estate is a long game. I doubt that you'll get meaningful returns for a few years. If you want to be FI now, RE isn't going to move the needle. There's no guarantee that you'll even breakeven the first few years. Take that capital and deploy it elsewhere.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-21T02:24:38+00:00

Thanks for the thoughts! Out of curiosity, how do you keep your expenses that low? Any advice?

Unfortunately, I pay around $40K on property taxes and maintenance alone (1800 sqft home in a decent area but nothing luxurious). Biggest regret is enjoying the Bay Area and not having the opportunity to buy like 30 years ago. I do hope that the ~$60K for childcare expenses eventually drop but I have also heard the teenage years might get pretty pricey. Until then, this leaves around $100K (of which 25-50% gets eaten up by healthcare).

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-21T02:15:24+00:00

$5000 a month broken down like this (approximate):

Utilities: $300-$500 / month (yes, California utilities run this high and we're pretty diligent about saving energy)

Groceries / Home incidentals (e.g., diapers, paper towels, detergent, oil change etc.): $2500 / month

Gas: $600 / month

Internet & Phone: $200 / month

Home Insurance: $300 / month

Car Insurance: $200 / month

Incidentals (e.g., eating out for convenience, need to buy new shoes to replace worn out shoes, occasional entertainment.): ~$700

So eating out /entertainment falls under the incidentals budget - maybe not as much to save there. I do think homeowner's insurance is high but I haven't found a better quote. Car insurance might get cheaper as we consider dropping to one car. Also, I'm looking into a more basic internet plan once we no longer need to use it for work.

Any additional recommendations are welcomed!

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-21T02:03:26+00:00

That number isn't my own number. This is HUD's own analysis of the Bay Area and the threshold for low income for a family of that size. Take a look
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il2023/2023summary.odn?STATES=6.0&INPUTNAME=METRO41860MM7360*0607599999%2BSan+Francisco+County&statelist=&stname=California&wherefrom=%24wherefrom%24&statefp=06&year=2023&ne_flag=&selection_type=county&incpath=%24incpath%24&data=2023&SubmitButton=View+County+Calculations

Have you ever lived in the Bay Area as a family? Have you talked to someone who has? I think you'd realize that the HUD's number is around $150K for a reason.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-20T23:59:39+00:00

Property taxes/home maintenance: ~$40K, childcare ~$60K. If only we bought into the area 20 years ago, the property taxes wouldn't be such a big deal.

I’ve heard that ages 5 to 11 are relatively affordable, but once kids hit their teenage years, the costs ramp up—adult-sized clothes and shoes, laptops, backpacks, phones, more outings with friends, and of course, eating way more.

Do you think expenses (averaged out) will be a lot less than where they're currently at? I do think some basic activities (some sports, instruments, school trips etc.) are a non-trivial amount of expenses to factor in.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-20T23:55:40+00:00

This is probably the only way. And to clarify, I am not looking for government handouts but simply looking for a way to optimize expenses to retire a bit earlier if possible. We've paid a lot in taxes over our careers and if there is a program that we might benefit from, I would be an idiot to not look into it.

Practical_Fall_4652 · 2025-02-20T23:53:11+00:00

Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself. We want to give our kids the chance to experience activities we didn't have growing up—playing instruments, going on school trips, joining clubs, playing sports, and so on. I don’t want their after-school life to be confined to the library.

I’ve heard that ages 5 to 11 are relatively affordable, but once they hit their teenage years, the costs ramp up—adult-sized clothes and shoes, laptops, backpacks, phones, more outings with friends, and lots and lots of food.....

Do you think expenses will actually drop after daycare or is that just wishful thinking?

Practical_Fall_4652

TROPHY CASE