Hi everyone, my name's Laurence and I live in San Diego. I've technically been a member here for quite some time - even moderated for a while - but it's been so long since I've posted, or even lurked, that I'd thought I'd re-introduce myself.
I'm 37 (wow, when did that happen?) and I have 3 daughters, 7, 4, and 10 months. My oldest has special needs (Down Syndrome) but is very high functioning so she hasn't really required anything more than a typical kid for some time. My wife works a little from home and I go to work at mega-corp every day. We crossed over the 200k a year mark since I last posted but in San Diego that's just solid, not spectacular as some of you know. We take advantage of retirement accounts, kids and my wife dialing back work hampered deposits for a while and the recession didn't help, but we are closing in on $300k in 401k and IRA holdings. We carry little debt outside of the mortgage (car payment - 0% financing is irresistible to me) but aside from the emergency living expenses money market we don't have much after tax and are looking to shore that up.
My philosophy for investing was shaped by 4 pillars, I am targeting a retirement setup loosely based on "Buckets of Money" and a paid off mortgage (we pay an extra 700-1400 a month on principle to make sure it's paid off before I'm 50). I'm looking to retire at 55, and I have a non-cola'd, small pension at that point to help minimize the withdrawals from my cash bucket.
My main purpose of returning is to read threads and ask questions of those of you with real estate investment experience. Nords has already been a big help but I'm going to take this really slowly. It's an itch that won't go away and I'll have to learn the hard way by jumping in at some point. I'm seriously looking at buying a condo/loft in downtown San Diego - Gaslamp/East Village/Little Italy are top contenders. My working plan involves making it a vacation rental so that I can use it as well. My wife and I are big fans of dinner and dancing downtown and it just seems like throwing money at hotels might have an alternative. Not looking to make money on the condo at all, just defray the costs a bit, enjoy using it, and have a second place paid for in retirement. Heck, if things really go to pot we could sell my big north county house and just move into there when we retire....
....anyhow, I look forward to meeting the current generation of community members, and to those of you who do remember me it'll be great to chat with you again. My middle daughter's name is Olivia, and that name was influenced by a poll I did here in which it was picked 1st from our top ten. Well she's now four and reading and dancing and controlling the remote and generally driving me crazy with questions. Meanwhile my youngest, Elizabeth ("Ella") took her first steps tonight. Any other young parents out there living the chaos?
I'm 37 (wow, when did that happen?) and I have 3 daughters, 7, 4, and 10 months. My oldest has special needs (Down Syndrome) but is very high functioning so she hasn't really required anything more than a typical kid for some time. My wife works a little from home and I go to work at mega-corp every day. We crossed over the 200k a year mark since I last posted but in San Diego that's just solid, not spectacular as some of you know. We take advantage of retirement accounts, kids and my wife dialing back work hampered deposits for a while and the recession didn't help, but we are closing in on $300k in 401k and IRA holdings. We carry little debt outside of the mortgage (car payment - 0% financing is irresistible to me) but aside from the emergency living expenses money market we don't have much after tax and are looking to shore that up.
My philosophy for investing was shaped by 4 pillars, I am targeting a retirement setup loosely based on "Buckets of Money" and a paid off mortgage (we pay an extra 700-1400 a month on principle to make sure it's paid off before I'm 50). I'm looking to retire at 55, and I have a non-cola'd, small pension at that point to help minimize the withdrawals from my cash bucket.
My main purpose of returning is to read threads and ask questions of those of you with real estate investment experience. Nords has already been a big help but I'm going to take this really slowly. It's an itch that won't go away and I'll have to learn the hard way by jumping in at some point. I'm seriously looking at buying a condo/loft in downtown San Diego - Gaslamp/East Village/Little Italy are top contenders. My working plan involves making it a vacation rental so that I can use it as well. My wife and I are big fans of dinner and dancing downtown and it just seems like throwing money at hotels might have an alternative. Not looking to make money on the condo at all, just defray the costs a bit, enjoy using it, and have a second place paid for in retirement. Heck, if things really go to pot we could sell my big north county house and just move into there when we retire....
....anyhow, I look forward to meeting the current generation of community members, and to those of you who do remember me it'll be great to chat with you again. My middle daughter's name is Olivia, and that name was influenced by a poll I did here in which it was picked 1st from our top ten. Well she's now four and reading and dancing and controlling the remote and generally driving me crazy with questions. Meanwhile my youngest, Elizabeth ("Ella") took her first steps tonight. Any other young parents out there living the chaos?
