I was hoping to get some concensus on some of my thoughts. Not to stereotype my own kind, but I'm Iranian and we have a wierd way about us. Basically, we haven't quite caught up to speed on the new ways of the world, so there is some learning and stumbling that we go through.
So, here is the deal: I work for a living and have a house. I have slowly saved a bit of extra cash and used it to buy stocks. I was mostly speculating and got a little lucky. I freaked out a few months back and sold a good portion of it. So, the question is where to invest my money? Also, it is a given that my practices are very risky and unconventional, but then again you all know me by now. The goal is simply to invest for the future. i do not expect to see this money again for a minimum of 5 years. Here is what I was considering:
1 - Invest in some long term stocks (diversify) without using margin and just sit it out.
2 - Upgrade to a larger house.
3 - Buy a rental unit.
I was leaning at #3, since I figured that someone else would help me make the note on it (rent). if I just upgrade my own house, I have to worry about the added payments, too. Then when I started to get into rental properties (condos), I noticed that SD is pretty tapped out. Basically, the prices have shot up. Again being non-traditional, I came up with an unbased formulation of looking for something where I can pay 25% down and it would pay its own costs. I don't know if that is a good way to look at it, but that is how I evaluate "deals". As a reference, right now, most condos in SD are closer to 40-50% down if they are to pay their own way. It is understood that my evaluation assumes rent prices are constant and not dynamic (which they would be in a recession). So, this criteria led me towards the "slum lord" boundaries and I have started looking at multi-unit buildings. The particular building in question has 10 units and is OLD. I was planning on having 2 of the units NOT pay rent and used the remaining 8 for my evaluation.
So, here is the question to the forum:
Am i even close to being in-line? Do I need to go to a financial planner to help me plan (I am thinking so)? Up until now I assumed I didn't have enough money to make it worth these things, but now I am thinking that any amount of money needs good management.
Help a brother out!!
So, here is the deal: I work for a living and have a house. I have slowly saved a bit of extra cash and used it to buy stocks. I was mostly speculating and got a little lucky. I freaked out a few months back and sold a good portion of it. So, the question is where to invest my money? Also, it is a given that my practices are very risky and unconventional, but then again you all know me by now. The goal is simply to invest for the future. i do not expect to see this money again for a minimum of 5 years. Here is what I was considering:
1 - Invest in some long term stocks (diversify) without using margin and just sit it out.
2 - Upgrade to a larger house.
3 - Buy a rental unit.
I was leaning at #3, since I figured that someone else would help me make the note on it (rent). if I just upgrade my own house, I have to worry about the added payments, too. Then when I started to get into rental properties (condos), I noticed that SD is pretty tapped out. Basically, the prices have shot up. Again being non-traditional, I came up with an unbased formulation of looking for something where I can pay 25% down and it would pay its own costs. I don't know if that is a good way to look at it, but that is how I evaluate "deals". As a reference, right now, most condos in SD are closer to 40-50% down if they are to pay their own way. It is understood that my evaluation assumes rent prices are constant and not dynamic (which they would be in a recession). So, this criteria led me towards the "slum lord" boundaries and I have started looking at multi-unit buildings. The particular building in question has 10 units and is OLD. I was planning on having 2 of the units NOT pay rent and used the remaining 8 for my evaluation.
So, here is the question to the forum:
Am i even close to being in-line? Do I need to go to a financial planner to help me plan (I am thinking so)? Up until now I assumed I didn't have enough money to make it worth these things, but now I am thinking that any amount of money needs good management.
Help a brother out!!