Am I as poor as I feel?

[Donaldo]

Hector:

Thank you for the link!! Boy, I have my work cut out for me! But, feeling positive that there are several options to possibly improve my situation!

maat55:

Are you serious? I'd think, living in Oklahoma, you'd be dodging tornadoes left and right. When the news says "Tornado Alley had 112 twisters last week" or whatever the number was, that makes me feel a bit woozy!

ActYourWage:

Ha ha!! Actually, I have heard some great things about TN. Someone whom I work with was stationed in TN and was crazy about it - LOVED the people. Any suggestions for a city...that hopefully doesn't have too many tornadoes??

[97guns]

97guns

I have seen how cheap the houses are in Merced, Stockton, etc.! I wasn’t sure if it was worth it, though, to purchase a cheap house, have low-income people with their 10 kids (and 8 cars parked on the lawn) rent it out, then trash it. A friend of mine owns a 10-unit apartment complex and the people that rent it out are pigs. If you could tell me just a tad little more (via PM if you like), I’d so appreciate it!

!

ive heard some tales of the stockton area myself, being in los banos alot of the renters there commute to san jose and the bay area for work. im going on my 3rd year now and had to evict 1 tennant, i have my original tennants in the other 3.

my aunt owned an 18 unit apt building in stockton 20 years ago and the tennants banded together. they stopped paying rent, trashed and gutted the place.

this investment has allowed me to retire early, in another 6 years or so i will see my entire investment returned to me from only rental income. any rise in equity is pure gravey.

[Donaldo]

97guns, you are giving me ideas. May I ask, did you purchase lower-priced homes in poor areas, or nicer areas?

[humandraydel]

I would recommend South Carolina. I'm also a fan of SE and NE Georgia, east Tenn, and western North Carolina.

[97guns]

nice areas, these homes were going for 350-375K at the peak. i snapped them up for 80K a piece, the cheapest one i got was 70K, equity has already grown 15%. they are getting $1000-$1100/mo.

[97guns]

also.......ive tried long distance landlording, and it didnt work. i had a triplex in las vegas that i got nickled and dimed to death on. i went through 3 managers in 3 years and decided to get out without loosing much. i live in san jose and do have a manager but he cant try anything because im so close.

[Donaldo]

nice areas, these homes were going for 350-375K at the peak. i snapped them up for 80K a piece, the cheapest one i got was 70K, equity has already grown 15%. they are getting $1000-$1100/mo.

You're kidding! Dude, you lucked out. These were foreclosures, I take it? I'd be scared to go that route because I heard it can turn out to be a nightmare, but you've done really well, so who can argue with that. There's just so much for me to learn!!

[Donaldo]

I would recommend South Carolina. I'm also a fan of SE and NE Georgia, east Tenn, and western North Carolina.

Thank you. I have heard good things about SC also. Actually, I was looking at some houses online in Virginia. Stunning... Safe, do you (or anyone) know? (Or fairly so?)

[BMEPhDinCO]

Thank you. I have heard good things about SC also. Actually, I was looking at some houses online in Virginia. Stunning... Safe, do you (or anyone) know? (Or fairly so?)

Perfectly safe - I lived in GA for 18 years - two storms during that time (one hurricane, one tornado) and they were over in a few hours. And they give you PLENTY of warning time. And snow is a foreign concept most of the time - and work/school is always canceled.

My family has lived in NC, VA, MD, and we have friends from SC, TN, AL, etc - the southeast is very cheap and safe from weather issues. Your biggest concern will be a heat wave and that's why God gave us A/C ;-) (oh, and religion is a big issue, but just keep out of an argument and it's all good).

Honestly, if you could see your house for $250k (After closing costs, etc) and move out to a suburb of a Southeast city (Atlanta, Charleston, Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, Birmingham, Nashville, etc), you could probably pick up a house for $120k (a fairly nice one) and invest the rest in education and your future - taking time off to go back for more that is and starting retirement investments.

You also mentioned wanting a bank that has a physical location - Charles Schwab is another investment group that has branches everywhere. Although you really shouldn't worry about hackers or whatnot - the sites are very safe and millions of people use them. But do open a RothIRA as soon as possible with someone, every month of interest lost translates to a lot of money 20 years later! Do a week or so of research and pick some group who works best for you.

Best of luck!

[Donaldo]

BMEPhDinCO, thank you so very much for your advice!! I will look into Chrles Schwab!!

Also, I feel more confident now that I hear your (and others') views on the weather/tornado issues out that way. One problem... The houses in VA are so gorgeous, I may have difficulty choosing a "cheap" one. I'm amazed at what you can get out there for the same price you can buy a crap-shack here!!!

[Steel]

Thought is creative. All thought, good and bad, is creative and tends to lead to a material thing. That is why we must learn to be more positive.

[97guns]

my diversification consists of 2 asset classes. 50% income earning real estate and 50% physical precious metals. i got into real estate in 2009 dropping my entire savings into it, 2 years later i have almost doubled my net worth from 280K to over 500 by putting all the excess rental money into physical metal. i do this every month, im actually buying silver almost every day.

[Donaldo]

my diversification consists of 2 asset classes. 50% income earning real estate and 50% physical precious metals. i got into real estate in 2009 dropping my entire savings into it, 2 years later i have almost doubled my net worth from 280K to over 500 by putting all the excess rental money into physical metal. i do this every month, im actually buying silver almost every day.

Please pardon me for taking so long to get back here.

I appreciate your response. Very interesting - silver, and not gold? I was tempted to sell some silver/gold (not pure gold) but I think I'll hold onto it now...

[mgkimsal]

Just a couple of quick thoughts:

NC is nice, and booming. You'd likely be able to find a job earning more out this way (TN/NC/VA/SC/etc), and the cost of living is generally lower. TN has no income tax, which makes me want to move there. Summers do get a bit hot.

As someone else said, the tornado fear is *way* overblown (pun intended?). I'd wonder why anyone would ever move to California, with all those earthquakes you have out there. There's *millions* of people living out in this neck of the woods, and while tornadoes do come through occasionally, they rarely do much damage, and life goes on. Raleigh had a big one in 1996, then another in 2011. Some lives were lost - I don't mean to minimize their loss - but lives get lost in earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters. No place is perfect, but many are better for your wallet than others.

[Eric80]

Dont be afraid! Follow what your heart truly wants. In terms of thinking about retirement just think about what that really means? To me it means content. if moving will make you content and happy aand satisfied then dont be scared! Go for it - 'you only live once'