All Forum Posts by: Karen M.

Turned 50 this year and not in real estate yet -- but never say never!

However, I started saving very early in career and actively invest in the stock market. 

Take care of your health and mental acuity and you have decades of future investing to do. 

1) Aversion to debt. We just paid off our own home and are 100% debt free.  Do we want to take on rental debt?

2) Not sure about committing to a large down payment of say, 25,000 - 50,000 for a property. Most of our investments are in tax-deferred vehicles, so committing a bunch of taxable money feels like a lot, even if it is not a huge portion of NW.

3)  Worries about hassles and knowing there is a learning curve and screw-ups ahead of us.

4)  Illiquidity. High transaction costs. 

5) The stock market has been working well for us, not a lot of motivation to change course

6) Not 100% committed as a couple to the idea

Dear BPers,

I'm interested in learning more about Real Estate investing and taxes.  We are getting close to amounts where our income might be too high for ROTHS (Have to check this after the standard deduction. We took the standard deduction in 2018.)  But I am looking at real estate investing as a possible / future help to relieve taxes. 

The 2019 standard deduction is $24k for married filing jointly, and we generally do not have enough in mortgage interest, charitable contributions, etc. to itemize, although we could work on being more strategic with those things.

If we purchase a turn key property or other real estate investement, we would be able to deduct business expenses and depreciation. 

Am I missing anything? Has anyone taken up real estate investing specifically for the tax benefits?  Thanks.

Thanks Ian, I was looking at your site yesterday. What I think I'm looking for is a small pond where I can start small and see how things feel, before going bigger.  It takes me a while to develop a comfort level.    

Hey BPers,  I've been casually reading about Peer Street and Fund that Flip and am curious about people's recent and long-term experiences with these services.  We decided several years ago that landlording was not the right fit for our family, and I'm thinking of toe-dipping into the crowdfunding services to see if it works for us.  

What have these places been like for you?  I've read some of the older postings but want to solicit the latest feedback.  Thank you!

I went to an investors conference earlier this year that was about 700 people, and I'll estimate that about 30-40 of those people were women.   I've been to smaller investor gatherings where out of 30 people, I've been the only female there who is not a "wife".  It is a little uncomfortable, but you know, I choose to hang out in places where the people are wonderful, and so I had no worries about being welcomed, these folks I hang with are generally awesome people. 

What was interesting to me was that at the conference, two of their three main speakers were women -- Randi Zuckerberg (that is, Mark Zuckerberg's sister, who is also the creator of Facebook Live and creator of a kids show called Dot, Dot Complicated and a new initiative called Sue's Test Kitchen, that are all about kids and technology).   One of the other speakers was Jill Furman, a Broadway producer (who apparently made the introduction to Randi Zuckerberg for the conference organizers).  

As far as I can tell, his 700 mostly male audience was very appreciative and loved both presenters. As a female, I was inspired, and thankful.

Also at this conference, it was very interesting how other women approached me with warmth and kindness.  Having these new women friends helped me feel "less weird" about being there in the first place.  And these women were so impressive, I am so thankful to have met them. 

So anyway, just sharing some experiences. 

I will also share that one of my current business heroes is Katrina Lake, CEO of Stitch Fix. She's a very successful young female entrepreneur and she has articulated some of the struggles of starting out and taking her company public in an investing world that is full of guys. 

I think it's important to talk more with your wife to define your shared priorities.  What is important to her?  Does she want a family vacation every year and a weekly or monthly date night?  (All of those things can be had on variable budgets.)  Does she want professional family photos?  Does she want to celebrate holidays in certain ways?  Does she want certain experiences for your kids, like dance lessons, music or club sports? Try to understand her desires so you can make sure that both of you can commit to a plan for "making memories". 

With the real estate investing, I decided after talks with my husband to pass on RE and pursue other forms of investing. That worked for us, and I prioritize my marriage and kids as my most important investment of all. 

But you have a lot of great advice here from successful RE investors. This is a fantastic topic and I wish you great success. 

Back when I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, the author makes the point that you can do well in either stocks or real estate. He emphasized for stocks that investors need to learn to use options. In the stock market, there are multiple ways of making money and working through volatility. 

Everyone needs to find what suits them. I'm circling back to reading about real estate again, it is always good to keep learning. 

@Pat L. get her on the show!

I haven't listened to the podcast in ages, but remember some very, very good female guests.  One lady from the Seattle area who was wonderful about articulating her business mission of providing safe, functional housing, and then, I think her name is Paula Pant from Afford Anything.  I've always enjoyed those episodes.  

I wonder how many female commercial brokers are out there? 

I appreciate the effort to find female role modes for other female investors, and also think its worthwhile for female investors to put some effort into lifting each other up with encouragement whenever possible. 

Nan,

First of all, I am so sorry that this person assaulted you, and I hope that you are recovered from those injuries, physically, mentally and emotionally.

I just want to wish you the best as you go forward.  A negative culture is not in all of America, but there are parts of it that you are seeing.  Please be careful!  

Think about systems to protect you and to protect yourself from being stolen from.  I'm sure there are many good resources here at Bigger Pockets.

Stick by your new rule in your title to never take in strays, and find other ways to be giving and loving that won't compromise your safety, privacy and financial security.

Hugs,

Karen