[l2ridehd]

I have two rental properties. I bought when the stock market was a bad idea and price and mortgage interest were very low. The real estate market is cyclical. It has been for a 1000 years. The last valley was not as low as the prior one and the next peak will be higher then the last one. The peaks and valleys run in 8 to 15 year cycles. My numbers are a little better then Borjo, but I have been very successful in keeping mine rented an average of 9 months a year plus I do more of everything myself. And it does provide a tax break. I break even plus a minor profit plus equity build as the mortgage is paid down. However I also expect the real profit will be once the housing market returns to normal, not the rental income. I add most profit which is small to continue to pay down the mortgage. I have done all the math and I need to get about a 10 to 14% market appreciation over 5 years to make the ROI be more attractive then other investments. I am a little ahead of that curve on one home and a little behind on the other.

There are some other benefits. Once there full time it will provide me about a day a week of meaningful work and additional profit as I will do everything myself so my time will be well paid. I have met some really nice people. It helps diversify my investments. Tax benefits. I have flipped homes my entire life, almost entirely waterfront property until now. I will continue to do that as well. Being rental savvy allows you to work that market and when you hit a down cycle like now, you can hold and still not lose money. The two investments work very well together.