Tuesday, April 26, 2016

April Debt Update: [Student Loans]


Feels like we're at a little bit of a standstill this month. We are getting ready to purchase a rental income property (see HERE) and are using some of the money we would be putting towards these loans on a down payment for that property. So, its a little ouch right now but hopefully will pay off in the long run.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Rental Income Lets us Live Rent Free! Or does it? TBD

If we are ever going to pay off this debt, we are going to have to get creative. So,


We have a plan.
I haven't decided how good of one it is.


Here is what I'm thinking:


We haven't narrowed down exactly where we will be moving, but in some of our options (OK, AZ, CA, OR) the cost of living/buying a house is SO cheap. Like, you can buy a pretty nice house (Think 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms in a nice neighborhood for 120k). --> mortgage payments for a house at this price are typically $600-$800 month, as a general rule of thumb. (obviously not in california, ha)

We are thinking we will buy a duplex, live in one side, and rent out the other side. In the areas we are looking at, units like this rent out for somewhere between $900-1200 a month, essentially the cost of our mortgage plus some likely maintenance fees that will come up.

Certainly there are cons to renting, and these are my top three concerns:
1) Finding legit tenants and dealing with bad ones
2) Collecting rent every month
3) Exposure to liability

But if that lets us live "rent free" (since tenants will be covering our mortgage) for a few years, maybe its worth it? What do YOU think??