anyone in real estate in texas? looking at austin...

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

i might be a little nuts, but i want seasonal snow when i retire. like a foot on the ground thats gone in a couple of weeks.

thats what i'm leaning towards. we almost have everything paid off except the houses. we just have the jeep that we've been knocking out.
the market just isn't the same as it was back in 2012 and 2015 when i bought the rentals. putting 25% down on a property and renting it rarely makes a profit or even breaks even anymore.

running a calculator, it would take us about two years to pay off one of the rentals if we were intentional and also threw our tax returns at it. it would be slightly less time to pay off the second. and if we used the profit from the rentals to pay extra on our primary, we would have that paid off in about ten years. that would give us a few years before we hit 50 to really beef up some mutual funds. after 50, i'll probably still work if i want to, but its going to be doing something i like.

where abouts in michigan would be a cool place to live or have a second home?

Solid! Wife and I are on a similar path.

The top of the lower peninsula from Traverse City up and over to the Mackinaw Bridge is gorgeous. Look up the coast line and lakes. It's better than most US ocean shore lines. Clear and bright blue water, no salt, no smell (excluding Erie). The upper peninsula is much more off the beaten path but Marquette is a college town (Northern Mich U) that could support a cheap duplex rental for $200k.

Downsides: it's cold in the winter man! The snow comes and doesn't go anywhere for months...

I've been noodling shoreline property as an investment. Doesn't seem like it would ever lose its value. But know knows.

[dparm]

Western side of the lower peninsula is a very popular area if you're into outdoor recreation. Tons of lake houses and vacation homes. Basically anything south of Grand Rapids along the lake.

You'll have easy access to GingerMan Raceway and Grattan Raceway, plus all of the tracks (and cities) in IL, IN, and WI are still drivable in less than a day.