New - Seeking Guidance

[Abe Mendoza]

So, I have been lurking in the background here quite a bit, reading, watching YouTube videos and learning from my parents about real estate investing. We are looking for some feedback to our plan below, specifically if we should sell our current house to attain additional capital.

We live in Northern California, are in our early 30s and are both W2 earners. We contribute to a 401k, two 457s, one Roth IRA, and dabble in stocks as well. If all goes well these investments, our CalPERS pension with health insurance, and SSA income will fund our retirement. Now, we want to add a real estate portfolio in hopes of retiring early and traveling freely.

Right now, we have $60k to invest in single family homes or a multi-family property (1-4 units). We are in a unique opportunity to sell our house and profit $40k (minimum after fees), which will increase our capital to $100k+. Of course, this means no more 2,500 sqft home with 3-car garage and 10,000 sqft of yard. So, our “sacrifice” would be selling our house and buying new construction for the same mortgage and other expenses on a smaller plot of land (4,750 sq. ft.) to increase our available capital. We considered a duplex but there are few around our area and start around $550-600k, not including the updates that would be needed.

Our mindset is “sacrifice” now and reaping the rewards in 10-20 years, but are we crazy for considering selling our house for more capital? If we stay, we figure it could take another 1.5-2 years longer to get our third property.

Thoughts on our plan above?