When time is not on your side.

[Marci Stein]

now that I am 55 y.o., i want to invest as smart as i can for the next 5 years .

 I admire all of you who got the message of accumuating wealth through R.E. when  

young. I have 2 SFH now that are good cash flow, paid in full.

any thoughts on what would be the smartest way to go- 

i.e.  multis or  sfh,  a few in  A  areas 

vs. more  in C areas? 

I do know i cannot afford to wait for appreciation to happen in 20 years.

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

What's your goals or needs? I am investing for my parents who are 5 years older than you. I still bought them class A properties. Yes the cash flow isn't as great, and it is a bit of a appreciation play, but you still have years. My grandparents are alive and well at 92 (so that is another 37 years!) You want to set yourself up with a great asset that ins't going to be causing you a ton of stress or heartache.

We buy class A properties because we can self manage them (saves us 10%), have no vacancies (never lost a day), attract tenants who take ownership and change filter, light bulbs etc. The goal is for us in early retirement and my parents in their retirement to have as stress free as possible investing. Plus we leverage the house AS MUCH as possible while great W2 incomes still exist. This allows us our highest earning and make sure that the tenants are paying the houses off and not us inflating them.

Everyone has their own desires. We have learned that GROSS doesn't matter. It's the net. How much are you earning after you deduct your hidden costs AND the loss of time or ability to do something else since you are dealign with your house. For us the "whole picture" class A properties are better than the single "earning of class C".