Starting in Multi-Family Real-Estate Investing after 65

[Dan Wiland]

I recently retired and am considering getting started in multi-family real-estate investing. I will be selling my house soon and am considering buying a quadplex as a home and investment property, then adding more multi-family properties over the next 5-10 years, 50-100 doors. 

For experience: 
I have owned direct marketing sales organizations, retail stores and a construction company, worked as a computer programer/systems analyst, employed or supervised up to about 25 people at various times, purchased and paid off 2 homes, negotiated and managed many software consulting arrangements to success and have been successful investing inside of IRAs for 20 years. 

After reading BP forums and website, listening to podcasts and reading books I like the idea of real-estate investing but have never been a landlord. I would not hesitate except I've read of so many people starting out much younger, then putting things on "autopilot" when they retire, the age I would be starting out. 

I've looked in the forums and searched the website on this subject but not found anything. I would appreciate if anyone could direct me to such information here on BP. 

I would welcome any advice or suggestions or real life stories from others who might have some insight on this. Are there others here who have, or know of others who have started real-estate investing in their mid 60s? 

[Bettina F.]

I disagree.  Early retirement is the perfect time to buy multifamily.  Much of your life experience will help in being a LL.

In 2011, my husband and I bought the property that would become our retirement home.  We rented this out for 2 years.  Due to high property taxes, we did not want to retire in the big, expensive (but paid for) house overlooking Puget Sound.  We bought in low cost Northern Idaho.  In 2013, when my husband was 62, we sold the house overlooking Puget Sound and paid cash for a 6 plex in Northern Idaho with the proceeds from the sale of the Puget Sound house.  Paid no capital gains, since were both over 55, and moved to our retirement property in Northern Idaho.  We purchased two single story triplexes that face each other to form a courtyard.  We are healthy enough to do most of the painting, mowing, and day to day management ourselves.  We have a trusted handyman for the items we cannot do ourselves, but with YouTube our skills are expanding daily!  (I have become an artist in drywall repair!)  Since the building is paid for, it cash flows like a herd of cash cows.  Rents are rising in our area.  Our building stays full,  and we had NO turnover in 2016.   We average 4 hours a week in managing the property.  This includes mowing the lawn and snow blowing in the winter, rent collecting, and bookkeeping.  (Luckily, our property is near water and that means it is often warm enough that a light snowfall melts by mid-morning.)  Since we are retired, when we do need to put in the hours rehabbing a unit, we have the time without the stress of juggling jobs and LLing.

My husband and I both have significant savings in 401Ks,  We wanted the keep the same proportion of our portfolio in RE, rather than placing it all in the stock market.  We always have the option of hiring a full time property manager in the future.  Our daughter will inherit the property on its stepped up basis when we die, and it should provide a nice income for her.

It has been fun to step out and do something different at this stage in our lives.  I never would have been happy wasting my retirement on the golf course.