Portland Investing Dreams

[JT Goulet]

Good morning all, new to the forums and like the other millions have dreams for a comfortable retirement in a short 20 years.  

I've been listening to the pod casts and reading as time allows and the "rule of thumb" like the 1% theory just seem to be complete pipe dream in this area so I'm in an analysis/paralysis mode.  Currently i have $40K liquid for my first investment and am very hesitant to look out of state on my first venture.

Are there other options locally to at least dip my toe into the investment world or do i just keep socking money away and wait for the market to cool?

[Julee Felsman]

Hi JT!

I won't bore you with my life story, but 20 years ago, my partner and I set out to secure a comfortable retirement with real estate investments as a centerpiece. We didn't have a lot of money to work with (a good bit less than you, even adjusted for the 20 years).  

Our solution was to move through a few properties. By living in our future investments, we were able to put a lot less down (as little as 3%), work on each property over time (without carrying a rental vacancy) and move on to the next one.

With the benefit of hindsight, I can say it was a great strategy. We're in solid shape to retire when we're ready to do so.

Happy to share more specifics if you are interested. You have to be willing to live a bit different lifestyle than some others, but the long-term benefit can be awesome. And breaking the mold is fun!

And my "day job" is as a residential loan officer, so I could help you work out a financing strategy. Helping clients walk a path similar to my own is one of my favorite things to do.  :)

I haven't completed my profile, so I should add a few compliance items so I'm not breakin' the law: NMLS 120831, Guaranteed Rate NMLS 2611 and we are (of course) an equal housing lender.