Doing Property Full Time

[Camu]

Hi PTers!

I'm a long time lurker and only pop out of the wood work once in a blue moon, here on PropertyTalk. But I am in need of your collective expertise.

Brief description: I have built a sizeable rental property portfolio over the last 10 years and am now in the process of setting myself up to leave my PAYE job and transition into working on/in my properties full time.

The part I am needing your guys advice on is, what steps did you take before you made the leap yourself?

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated, no matter how big or small. It could just be the thing I have over looked.

lets see what gems and words of wisdom the brains trust has to offer!

[Frezzinghot]

Have you maxed out your lending? Once the PAYE has gone it’s hard to get lending without a steady pay check. Borrow as much now as it will be much harder to access later on.

[Jeffa]

Currently 4 years into retirement


Dont stress over things you can't control

Plan for the future, prioritize the present

Be loyal to only those that have been there for you on your property journey

Incorporate strength training with daily walks, this keeps stress levels low and strength up as you age, health and strength is far more valuable than any yields on property

Just because you retire, doesn't mean you stop learning, you should have more time to expand your knowledge now that you are no longer a slave to the system.

[hawkeye]

Don’t forget to think about the consequences of the unexpected. For us it was the Canterbury earthquakes, then a health diagnosis. Covid too.
Are you resilient enough to get through the unexpected, which of course you can’t predict.

Also once you leave your day job and get older it is next to impossible to get back into paid work at the level you left it. If possible go part time so you can always increase hours again. And of course it depends how old you are. The younger you are the more you need to have as a buffer for the unexpected as you have more years of life left and more years where you will be wanting to spend money. When you retire at 65 you might only want to travel and spend for 10 years. Then you might be content with less spending and making do and downsizing. If you leave at 45 you have 20 extra years of higher spending you might want to do.

Also if you have kids, factor in contributing to weddings, 21sts, travelling to family weddings, funerals, helping out with education costs for kids etc. Replacing appliances and vehicles. Painting properties, replacing rental property appliances, carpets etc, and redecorating. Have a large sinking fund for irregular maintenance.

if you have debt make sure you have robustly tested your plan at high interest rates and high inflation for eg insurance and rates.