New to REI at age 60

[Troy W. Hudson]

Hi folks, my name is Troy and I'm a Christian. I'm married to a beautiful girl named Tammy and we have 4 grown kids and 6 grandkids. I just turned 60. We live in the Augusta, GA area. Our kids are spread out all over the country. We want to have the freedom to live centrally to them, work from anywhere/whenever and travel and enjoy life to the fullest and share the blessings that come our way. To leave a legacy that our kids can utilize and then pass on to the grandkids.

My day job and career for the last 40 years has been in professional media production and for the last 12 years I've been running my own professional voice over business under my name - Troy W. Hudson Professional Voice Overs, LLC. I still love what I do but I know that it is time for a change and am planning on a 7-10 year transition to not needing to work for a living. I believe from what I have learned about REI thus far, buy and hold real estate is the way to do that. Call it retirement or the next challenge!

In March 2022, my dad passed away and I became administrator of his estate which included his home which was purchased in 2003 and had a 30 year mortgage balance of around $70K. We already have a primary residence in the area with a mortgage, since we had moved to his part of the country because he was ill in 2021 when mortgage rates were 3%. We suddenly had 2 homes and began exploring what our options were and that is when we discovered the intriguing world of REI and tapped into Bigger Pockets and Better Life Tribe, etc. to begin our education.

In the time since his death and the probate process we have been paying his mortgage off and selling items from the home which we have been maintaining. Current mortgage is $59k because I have been paying the principal down while we slowly try and figure out what to do. 

We are having renovation/repair work done over the next month and making the decision to sell or buy. My wife and I are leaning toward renting because of the long term cash flow opportunities as opposed to the immediate cash profit. Estimated home price based on comps is $250-260k and rentals go for $1,700-1,800.

We both believe that small multifamily properties are the smartest way to start given our ages and desire to probably retire by the time I hit 70 - 10 years from now (if we want to). This inherited home is the impetus for us to get going and we are excited to learn and share with others along the way!