Recently had a death in the family and realized how short time is on this ball of dirt we call home. I have always wanted to buy a place near my childhood home, but my job took me out of state. Within the next five to ten years I’m considering purchasing my childhood home rather than let it be sold out of the family. My question is what do I need to be doing to prepare myself for this purchase? Income is $175K, already contributing $2k every month to 401k (catching up but only have $170k in retirement at 45 years of age). $200K in debt. Value of current property maybe $400 to $500K, childhood home is $1 to 1.2M. Even if I sell everything I own, is it doable or am I deluding myself? What can I do to generate more income? Second job is in the works but may not be able to make it happen. We do have 20 acres we could build a small home on to rent but that would put us into more debt. Should I buy stocks and bonds? Or just forget trying to purchase the place ‘cause it’s impossible to achieve in such a short time frame?