Hello from 43yo Female

frygirl · Post by **frygirl** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:46 am

Hello from the Pacific Northwest. I'm 43, female, single (never married) with no kids. I have a standard, unfulfilling, corporate-America job and absolutely no excuse for not being ERE already as I've been practicing voluntary simplicity for about 10 years.
I've spent all my earning years filling up my 401k and IRA. And earlier this year I paid off my studio condo. I patted myself on the back until I discovered this blog and realized that it was a dumb move to lock up all my cash that way.
I'll include more details when I start my frygirl journal as I work to restructure things for (hopefully) a 2012 ERE. Am so glad to have found this community!

aussierogue · Post by **aussierogue** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:52 am

Paying off your condo is a great achievement. Having no accomodation expenses for the rest of your natural life can equate to many hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings (for some more than a million bucks) especially if you live to a ripe old age!!
Now to get you some cashflow!

frygirl · Post by **frygirl** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:04 am

@aussierogue: theoretically a paid off condo is a good thing. But I don't think it's an ideal long-term ERE housing situation for ERE given the monthly homeowner's association dues. In fact, I've learned that I have an aversion to owning all major assets (real estate, cars, etc) as I hate the ongoing maintenance requirement. I'm much better suited for a life of rental living and public transport/zipcars.

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:35 am

Wow, if you actually retire in 2012 you might set a new land speed record for going from new reader to ERE!

bluepearl · Post by **bluepearl** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:41 am

Hi frygirl! Welcome! Fully owned condo is not bad... you know, you are already ahead of most (myself included... still have huge mortgage...)
At the right time you can trade the condo for something else... You are in a much better situation compared to if you have little savings in retirement funds and zero condo

Luck12 · Post by **Luck12** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 6:20 am

You are in a really good situation. You can continue the condo living and worst case you sell if it's no longer working for you.

aussierogue · Post by **aussierogue** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 6:47 am

Hi Fry Girl
I hear ya about non ownership, maintenance etc I feel the sameway but I think owning some realestate (no mortgage) is something that may not seem too important now but maybe in 20 years will be...
Maybe consider this...
Rent out your condo to someone else (treat it as an invesment just like stocks or a fixed deposit and then become a renter yourself. Rent something more suitable at the same price or even cheaper...
That way the maintenance in the home the home you live in will be handled bu the agent and any maintenance in the condo you own will also be handled by the agent (and you only see the pain once its done)
The only issue i can see is if condo there in the USA are the same as here in Australia - which means monthly maintenance charges (body corp) which can be high and eat into cashflow..

frygirl · Post by **frygirl** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 9:22 am

I just created "frygirl's journal"
viewtopic.php?t=1887

Heliotrope · Post by **Heliotrope** » Tue Dec 06, 2011 5:54 am

Im with aussierogue, treat your place like an investment. If you live in a city like Portland orSeattle it may be easy enough to rent your place by the week. I spent many years in the PNW, it is a great place for ERE minded folks.

frygirl · Post by **frygirl** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:51 am

Heliotrope, I wish I could rent my place by the week, but my condo association has strict requirements regarding rental units: no more than 20% of the units may be rented at any given time, and lease terms must be no less than 1 year. Those rules were originally attractive to me, but they are quite limiting now that I want to convert it to an investment property. There is only one spot left before the rental cap is met and another homeowner is thinking about renting her unit as well. I fear I may lose as I'm attempting to rent my unit furnished.

jane sf · Post by **jane sf** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 8:09 am

Is there that much difference in the rental market, furnished vs. unfurnished? If so, I might want to kill two birds with one stone: sell my stuff = earn a little cash AND it goes along with your preference of not wanting to maintain stuff. I would do what it takes to get it rented out and not have the choice disappear. For what it's worth.

frygirl · Post by **frygirl** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 8:31 pm

From what the property managers I'm interviewing are telling me, the difference in expected rent is $400 - $600 per month furnished vs unfurnished. It's enough for me to at least try to rent it furnished. The downside is that it takes longer to rent a furnished unit since it's geared to a much smaller segment of the market.

jane sf · Post by **jane sf** » Fri Dec 09, 2011 10:14 pm

ok - that is a sizable difference. good luck!

aussierogue · Post by **aussierogue** » Sat Dec 10, 2011 11:50 pm

hi frygirl
your condo has too many encumberances. I would sell it as it is not really a good investment. I good investment property allows you to own it ouright, have no body corporate or ongoing fees, allows you renovate if you need to etc etc...
So sell it i reckon
cheers