Next steps for investor

[Derek Janssen]

I'm a remote investor living in the SF Bay Area and investing in Phoenix since 2010 (Dallas since 2005). I have a pretty solid system in Phoenix - self manage, long term tenants in SFRs, etc.

While I feel that I've acquired enough assets to retire comfortably (at some point), I don't currently get enough income from the properties. I really want to quit my day job. I realize the slow and steady way is to pay off the mortgages and increase cashflow, but it seems like that will take forever.  I've done the math and once I get 3 houses paid off, the mortgages start falling like dominoes.

I can't currently move out of the Bay Area bc my kids are in high school.

As you might have deduced, I'm a pretty conservative investor.  Looking for advice.

[Wes Blackwell]

@Derek Janssen

Question: What would you do with yourself if you could quit your day job?

Besides vacations, more time with family, etc. What productive activity would you do? Is there another career you'd prefer to have instead?

The problem seems to be that you don't have enough income from your rental properties in Phoenix in order to quit your job as an engineer in the Bay Area. Is that the main issue?

Perhaps run the numbers and see how soon you could reach your goal of quitting your job if you continued with the plan of paying down the mortgages and increasing cashflow. How soon could you quit?

Let's just say it's 10 years for easy numbers... is there another career you could pursue and make similar income for the next 10 years? Or a job you'd love much more and would be willing to work for 20 more years and take a pay cut in order just to not be an engineer anymore?

Perhaps the problem isn't your investing strategy (get wealthy slowly), maybe it's your job?

Just some food for thought... tag me when you reply and we'll try bouncing some ideas off each other and get it figured out.