Money

[dacah 0]

Owen....Been looking at a lot of your posts over the past few months and your perspective on moving out to Patts ..abeit retiring.... you put me off even though I have enough assets...again property in good locations and rented out...commercial ...so not too many hassles....so $60,000 income ...over 50... recon I could live a nice life ???? work at the moment and make consierably more than that ....move to Patts and income would drop to above

[Owen` 2]

Owen....Been looking at a lot of your posts over the past few months and your perspective on moving out to Patts ..abeit retiring.... you put me off even though I have enough assets...

 

Jesus, this is scary stuff. I don't want to screw anyone up in either direction.

 

I don't want guys to move to Pattaya and take a walk off a condo balcony 8 years later because they woke up that day out of money.

 

I also don't want to persuade guys to stay locked in the cubicle with nose to grindstone longer than they need to because this is a formula for driving up their blood pressure and that will take years off their lives every bit as effectively as walking off the balcony. Even if the BP doesn't rise, those are years of life not . . . lived.

 

So I don't tell nobody what to do. I just do numbers.

 

You got 60K in rental income. Good for you and well done, sir. Let's have a look at that money. I hope it is net of all maintenance and vacancies, with both those items sampled over several years. (I think the brits call them voids).

 

1) If it's not in a zero income tax state like Florida or Texas, you will get about 5% chopped off it.

 

2) The feds will take their 20% too. So you get to keep 0.75 X $60K = $45000. Unless you already had taxes embedded in the numbers. That $45K is $3750 per month.

 

3) The number that seems to float around to describe a nicely comfortable life in Pattaya is 80,000 baht a month. That's $2162. You're well covered. You should be able to pop back home to watch over your stuff once in a while with no strain on the budget.

 

4) I preach at the pulpit here about the dangers of inflation. Well, hopefully you can make your rental income track that.

 

5) Guy, if you're 50, you have a 30 yr sequence to manage. You have a revenue stream. Presumably you expect Social Security in 12 yrs too at some magnitude. I'll take a guess and say . . . $7000 of 2006 vintage (meaning it will be more dollars in 2018, but they will be equal to 7000 of today's dollars) based on you quitting in your 50's and maybe some future benefit reductions from the gov't.

 

Solve the health care insurance equation and unless there are things not in your post that are relevant, you could be looking at the girls soon. I see you have a job too, and quitting that is bigtime scary, I know. Don't know what kind it is.

 

I will say that I think a lot of jobs, maybe more than even you know, offer some part time possibilities via email. Even if your job is supervising a bunch of people who do inventory at a warehouse, I'll bet 2-3 times per year some task comes in where you have to review written procedures or safety regulations or something and recommend changes to what is written down. No reason you can't do that via laptop and collect a few bux.

 

Another plus to something like that is . . . your resume doesn't die. You have something to put on it for the years when you were a "consultant". If some disaster hit, you could go home and not be out of date and get work.

 

Anyway, I sympathize. I have been on the verge of resigning and becoming a "consultant" for months. It's very hard to shut down a nice salary.

Edited October 5, 2006 by Owen`

[BigDUSA 71]

I've been looking over the options of renting in LOS versus buying a condo and for me renting seems the way to go. If I buy a condo and end up having shitty neighbors or the maintenance levels seem to be declining, I'm hard pressed to find a buyer add in the current political situation which could turn nasty fairly quickly how do I get my money out of the investment?

 

With a rental any of the above happens, I walk away and at the most I lose my personal possessions if the political situation turns nasty and I have to head for the airport. I turn 60 in a few days and at best I figure I have 20-25 good years left, why bother with the hassle of ownership?

Edited October 6, 2006 by BigDUSA

[joes3175 0]

Invest in huses;

If you willing to give up your spare time on weekends for repairs. If you call a maintenance you can kiss goodby to income for weeks. But if you still invest in a house in US or Australia get a Thai or Filipina for tenant, at least you get a Bj for cuting the lawn, or chaning the light globe at night(Once I been called 11PM).

 

But seriously, if you want to invest, invest in shares. In mining sector.Metal prices are high as there is a big demand from developing countries, and reserves are at lovest ever levels. No maintenance,no worries, you can list them for sale from anywehere on the world, anytime you wish, and on the ende you pay low commision/stamp dutty on the sale compared to real estate. Real setate is a buble witch will burst and investors will get burnt like in the 80's.