Yes, owning rental property is worth the headache and hassle if you want to build long-term wealth. I've owned rental properties since 2005. They have accounted for millions of dollars in wealth creation. Building wealth through capital appreciation and rent appreciation is a powerful combination.
As the economy heals from the wounds inflicted by the pandemic, I am more bullish on rental properties than ever. Real estate's intrinsic value has increased dramatically because we're all spending more time at home. Owning a real asset during times of uncertainty and volatility is more valuable than ever before.
But I will say that it's much easier to own and manage rental property when you are younger with more energy and less responsibility. As you get older, you will have more responsibilities like taking care of your parents and children. Your energy and patience for dealing with hassles will likely fade as well.
Once I became a father in 2017, I decided invest $500,000 into real estate crowdfunding to earn income 100% passively. I already had three rental properties to manage and didn't want to buy another one then.
Owning Rental Property Is Worth The Hassle
In retrospect, I wish I owned even more multifamily properties when I was in my 20s and 30s. If I bought more multifamily properties instead of single family homes, I would probably be earning $2,000 more a month in passive income. Owning rental property is worth the hassle when you are young and less encumbered.
Real estate is my absolute favorite investment class to build wealth. Not only do you own a tangible asset, real estate also provides shelter and income.
When it comes time for you to sell the property, you can earn up to $250,000 / $500,000 in tax free profits as a single / married individual provided that you've lived in the property for two out of the last five years.
For 2021 and beyond, owning rental properties looks to be very attractive. The stock market has done well. Mortgage rates are at all-time lows. Further, the value of rental income has gone way up because interest rates have gone way done.
It now takes a lot more capital to generate the same amount of cash flow. The reason why is because interest rates have plummeted during the pandemic. However, rental properties have not increased in value as much. Hence, the opportunity to buy rental properties now. The value of rental income has gone way up!
Rental Property Attributes
As a new father, my reason for owing real estate also includes hedging against a difficult future for my son and daughter.
Holding onto my rental property portfolio will ensure that I can give my son a leg up if he needs it one day. The job market is getting more and more competitive, and already elite graduates with desirable jobs are just scraping by in expensive cities like San Francisco where career opportunities are relatively abundant.
If say I can subsidize my son’s rent so that he can pursue a career path that he’s passionate about, or offer him the opportunity to manage a family rental asset, if all else fails, I know the headache will have been worth it. Even if it doesn’t come to that, being prepared helps relieve some of the anxiety of being a parent… I worry a lot about the future.
But, this will only remain true as long as I can maintain my sanity and be a good parent while holding onto my rental properties.
Current Real Estate Property Portfolio
I currently own two rental condos, one in San Francisco and one in Tahoe, but I recently decided to sell my $60,000 net income rental home in San Francisco. I’m sure one day it will be worth so much more that I’ll almost regret selling it for $2,740,000, or 30X gross annual rent, but right now quality time with my son is worth more.
I live a fairly stress-free life, and I came to realize that owning rental properties is my main source of stress.
If you’re young, risk tolerant and patient, strategically chosen rental properties can turn a fairly small investment and relatively little effort into huge income growth within a decade or two. But that’s not passive income. It comes at a cost.
Owning rental properties does indeed mean dealing with headaches, from leaky roofs to pain in the ass tenants to huge property taxes. For example, I had to pay $23,000 a year in property taxes for my old rental house. Some of my own tenant horror stories could make you never want to touch rental properties.
When I sold my San Francisco rental home, I knew I wanted my next investments to be as passive as possible. The older I get, the more important earning passive income will be to you as well.
Investing In Heartland Real Estate
So far I’ve reinvested $500,000 from the sale of the house into real estate crowdfunding platforms like Fundrise, bringing my total investment to $810,000.
Along with being free from bad tenants, real estate crowdfunding has allowed me to diversify my real estate investments into more than a dozen properties, at much cheaper valuations and higher net rental yields, instead of just one very expensive one.
Focus on the heartland of America where valuations are cheaper and net rental yields are higher. It's all about arbitraging opportunity by using your expensive coastal city dollars to buy inexpensive non-coastal city real estate. With real estate crowdfunding, it's easier to do than ever before.
Fundrise is my favorite real estate crowdfunding platform open to all investors. They are pioneers in the eREIT space where you can earn 7%+ net rental yields without having to do any work. It's free to check out and explore as they are open to all investors.
For accredited investors, take a look at CrowdStreet. CrowdStreet focuses specifically on 18-hour cities, those cities with cheaper property and higher rental yields. Due to demographic shifts and the work from home trend, more people will likely migrate to 18-hour cities. I believe this is a multi-decade trend worth investing in. CrowdStreet is free to sign up and explore
If you can own rental properties without having to deal with the maintenance and tenant hassles, that's a huge win in my book! Regardless, owning rental property is worth the headache and hassle. You can create tremendous generational wealth with real estate.