Inheritance asset Renovate and rent or take the money and run!

[Joyce C.]

For almost 2 years now I’ve been trying to force the distribution of inherited assets so I can increase my retirement portfolio. Unfortunately brother has his own ideas and has been fighting it for his own benefit. Now on my third lawyer, this one is telling me just to sell the property and cash out then invest the cash. I’m getting beat down and I’m wondering if I at 68 years old should even be getting into real estate investing. Should I take the money and just put it in a CD with that guaranteed income or take the plunge and risk it by renovating the house, renting, and then rolling it over into my new retirement home in a few years with a 1031? I’m still working full-time until this distribution is resolved. This new lawyer also made his millions investing in real estate over the past 25 years, not by being a lawyer. So he gets real estate investing. Although I’ve known him for several years I can’t help but think he may possibly have contacts that would be interested in buying the properties themselves. Tired of waffling back-and-forth. Every day that goes by without this distribution beats me down even further and increases the money that I’ve lost in rental income. Am I looking at things the wrong way or right way? is there something that I’m overlooking that is a benefit?

[Corby Goade]

Welcome!

We don't know much about your personal situation or this specific property, but my two cents: sounds like this situation is causing serious family drama and is taking a lot of your time and energy away from living your best life. Why not put that time and energy in to just going out and making some deals happen for yourself?

Also- you mentioned you wanted to do a 1031 in to "your retirement home." That's not possbile with a 1031, you can't trade an investment property for a personal property. However, you could create enough cash flow and/or equity through your investments to pay for your retirement home. 

Finally- no, it's never too late to invest, that's stinkin thinkin! Your strategy and the market you invest in will defintely be influenced by your timeline, but there's never a bad time to invest. 

Best of luck!