Quote: (11-04-2018 03:50 PM)369eyedea Wrote:
The house were paid off long ago before I began looking after them, also seeing as the local property market has flattened out recently and chance of capital gains is low, it seems too drastic to remortgage them right now.
I'm not fully aware of the benefits of having it on the mortgage rather than them being unencumbered, given I get to keep all the rent, other than remortgage for the purposes of buying abother property.
The only reason to remortgage would be to purchase multi family rental properties with a higher return on investment than your current portfolio of two single family homes. Depending on the interest rates offered, it could be a better decision to sell one or both properties at the right price to do the same thing without borrowing.
Saying the local market is "flat" doesn't pass on a lot of information. Are there a lot of other single family homes being offered for rent in your area? Is your area economically depressed? Is there a demographic shift going on?
In the next few years you don't want to still be in the position where you are still dependent on renting out your properties at a bargain price. What you do want to do sooner instead of later is soberly assess "What direction are the values of my property headed and how is the local property market moving? Is anything permanent changing" If you find yourself in the position of an East Saint Louis homeowner in the 1950's or Detroit homeowner in the 1970's it may be prudent to liquidate the properties while you can still get a good offer and keep the proceeds in a similarly conservative investments.
[/quote]Also, if I may ask an auxiliary question, at what level of income would you say is appropriate to start thinking about starting a family. I'm a conservative and I really want to start a family one day when I'm older and wiser. Closer to ballpark 80,000k Usd? In order to leave a reasonably comfortable life for kids
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75-80k sounds about right as long as you don't tie yourself to a woman who will burn your capital for her short term comforts. Unless you suffer sunstantial financial misfortune in the next two decades you kids are going to be looking at paying cash price for university education unless they get merit aid. It depends on the kinds of kids you raise and how your values shift over the intervening period as your wisdom and experience grows. You will probably want you kids to experience some financially lean times in their young adulthood as they play with independence, but as a parent it will be natural to want to pass on the priviledge you yourself are enjoying.
Take this decade to learn, grow, and maybe make a couple small aggressive moves to try to level up your wealth. Use your next decade to start plotting the legacy you want.