[mod edit]
Happy holidays!
Sorry I did not get a chance to post more this year; you will see why below... I'm sharing my Year 0 FIRE adventures.
May 2023: Went to Europe for 5 days (long time planned trip) to my native country (I have dual Citizenship from that country), and learnt that my mom wanted to sell her (our) family apartment in the capital (owned for 55 years) (she is not living there anymore).
May 2023: Booked a last minute MCO (Orlando) to FAT (Fresno) ($320 RT!) to see the Surf Ranch Pro. This was quite impressive - you are so close to the action; of course the level of surfing of the pro-athletes, but also the wave is much taller and much longer than what it looks like on pictures / videos. The night sessions were spectacular. The vibe was very mellow / family friendly. It will be a unique experience because the WSL has decided not to select the Surf Ranch as a WCT stop in 2024.
Then on the last day I skipped the final and drove to Silicon Valley to see some old friends of mine.
July 2023: Went back to Europe to empty the apartment, supervise a few home improvements for the sale and re-discovered that bureaucracy is a still a real thing in Europe. It was quite a challenge to get all the paperwork in place. Then it was late July and we decided to wait beginning of September to put the apartment on the market (nothing happens in Europe during 'summer vacations').
September 2023: Went to Long Island, NY (long time planned trip) to escape the Florida heat for the month. The waves were extremely good this year according to many reports, but I couldn't find a spot that would work with the sandbank / tides / wind and my skills (there were several overhead days, I don't surf this anymore). Then the last 10 days were cold (50-60F) and rainy / windy which is extremely rare in NY in September. It was great of course to see family and friends (I did not stop to the office in NYC of course; nor did I contact former colleagues, I have moved on this).
In the meantime the apartment sold (after 10 days on the market) for a decent price (> $1M); 4% below ask.
October 2023:
Back home, I just discovered that the HOA fees will rise -again- significantly in 2024 in the Florida condo. They have doubled in 3 years (mostly because of common elements insurance i.e. building insurance): that was not part of my FIRE plan! And I had a gut feeling that the monthly cost was getting into the same territory as a single family home (SFH) monthly cost. Also for reference, my investment property (which is located in a Top 5 US city and in prime / landmark neighborhood) has now the same HOA and not comparable to a condo on the Treasure Coast, FL. So I visited couple of SFH in town (most were built in the 50s) and realized that even with a new roof, impact windows; a 50s CBS SFH is quite expensive to insure ($3k / year with wind, no flood). After 6-8 houses, I moved on and extended my search perimeter to another town (and another county but still in the Treasure Coast), and ‘voila’: I visited a new home and HOI dropped to ~$900 / year with wind, no flood. It’s not in a FEMA flood zone, nor in an evacuation zone. So I signed a contract for a to-be-built new CBS SFH, it’s only 5 mins farther from my favorite surf spot.
It has all the amenities of a 2020s home: open concept, kitchen island, tiles all over, shower niche, recessed lighting, soft closing cabinets, etc… and of course is 100% built up to Code with impact windows and doors (garage is ‘inside’ the house) and hip roof (with the hurricane straps on the trusses), etc… all this contributes greatly to reducing insurance. This took me a while, but I figured it out! This SFH monthly cost will be <$100 less expensive per month in 2024 (I did an extremely detailed budget calling Utilities, Insurance, Pest Control, Septic companies, Garbage removal companies, etc…) and the condo has not yet gone through the SIRS (structural integrity reserve study) nor Milestone Inspection; which most likely will bring the HOA higher in 2025; the condo was built in the mid 70s.
I talked about the SFH project to mom and she kindly offered to pay for it (luckily, she will never need the $)
November 2023: Found a last minute <$500 RT ticket MIA (Miami) to Europe (direct) [which is super low for that time of the year] and went back for 2 weeks to attend the closing of the apartment.
December 2023: Had to ‘fight’ with 2 European banks (one would not do it) to wire mom’s gift to the US; although the gift went though an attorney for paperwork and proper registration, European taxes were paid (there is tax equalization between that European country and the US). It was quite exhausting and it took one (1) month to get the funds here in the US!
On the music side, I released 3 sound banks for my synthesizer ‘geeky’ hobby, one is commercial and is / was highly praised which I’m quite proud of. Note: The $ side is neglectable if you dare to ask!
I also read 4 books, I highly recommend Peter Attia ‘Outlive’ and Richard Restak ‘The complete guide to memory’
On the health side, I did a screening colonoscopy (all clear for the next 10 years according to the doctor) for $1,200 (planned expense). I took advantage of a Black Friday promotion and did the 23 and me + Premium DNA test with the 40+ health reports; nothing special here (and no predisposition for Alzheimer nor Parkinson). I also got an Apple Watch Series 8 45mm (the least expensive model, certified refurbished through Apple) which cost me $20 thanks to various Apple Gift Cards I had. After a bit of research, I found this Training / AI Coach App (Athlytic) which I’ve been using for about 2 week and also highly recommend (I’m using it for Surfing, Outdoor Biking and Functional Strength); the data and guidance is right on point (for me at least).
On the money side, it’s all green as well. Been on budget (or below which allowed me to buy 4 non planned hardware synthesizers, one was quite expensive >$3,000 but there were several months where my discretionary was $1.5k below budget this summer; the 3 other ones were around $500 each).
NW is up to $2.690M, Robot Advisor says I can draw safely $4,400 per month (on $1.150M 70/30 portfolio), I’m drawing $2k. But unfortunately HC is going up (and HOA as explained above). HC will be up 17% in 2024 (to $279 per month, including DPC + Health Share + Dental, which I think it still a great deal and I’m extremely satisfied with the service). It was the same for the past 3-4 years, so not too big of a surprise. So I decided I will draw $2.2k per month in 2024. But I will re-assess when I sell the condo here.
That’s my main dilemma right now, either sell the condo and invest the proceeds or rent it. I’m leaning towards selling because if we have a Cat 4 or 5, I will have to pay the HOA (I had this experience with Sandy in NY where the condo was inhabitable for months, but still HOA was due); unsure how the tenant will react; but I would think they could decline to pay the rent (and / or find an attorney that will help them not paying the rent); in that case it could be a big loss even if renting makes more financial sense (I’ve done draft simulations with taxes on both scenarios). If you had a rental in FL during a hurricane (maybe Jeanne and Frances in 2004), please chime in, I’m willing to learn.
Lastly, I was 'kicked out' of Mint and I'm / will be evaluating (in 2024) Quicken Simplifi and Monarch Money as potential replacements (as of now, both have pros and cons and not a 100% Mint replacement, feature-wise): I don't like Credit Karma. If you have other suggestions, let me know.
So that’s it. Now you understand why I did not post much!
I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season, and looking forward to moving to the SFH in 2024!
Cheers
SurfFL
Happy holidays!
Sorry I did not get a chance to post more this year; you will see why below... I'm sharing my Year 0 FIRE adventures.
May 2023: Went to Europe for 5 days (long time planned trip) to my native country (I have dual Citizenship from that country), and learnt that my mom wanted to sell her (our) family apartment in the capital (owned for 55 years) (she is not living there anymore).
May 2023: Booked a last minute MCO (Orlando) to FAT (Fresno) ($320 RT!) to see the Surf Ranch Pro. This was quite impressive - you are so close to the action; of course the level of surfing of the pro-athletes, but also the wave is much taller and much longer than what it looks like on pictures / videos. The night sessions were spectacular. The vibe was very mellow / family friendly. It will be a unique experience because the WSL has decided not to select the Surf Ranch as a WCT stop in 2024.
Then on the last day I skipped the final and drove to Silicon Valley to see some old friends of mine.
July 2023: Went back to Europe to empty the apartment, supervise a few home improvements for the sale and re-discovered that bureaucracy is a still a real thing in Europe. It was quite a challenge to get all the paperwork in place. Then it was late July and we decided to wait beginning of September to put the apartment on the market (nothing happens in Europe during 'summer vacations').
September 2023: Went to Long Island, NY (long time planned trip) to escape the Florida heat for the month. The waves were extremely good this year according to many reports, but I couldn't find a spot that would work with the sandbank / tides / wind and my skills (there were several overhead days, I don't surf this anymore). Then the last 10 days were cold (50-60F) and rainy / windy which is extremely rare in NY in September. It was great of course to see family and friends (I did not stop to the office in NYC of course; nor did I contact former colleagues, I have moved on this).
In the meantime the apartment sold (after 10 days on the market) for a decent price (> $1M); 4% below ask.
October 2023:
Back home, I just discovered that the HOA fees will rise -again- significantly in 2024 in the Florida condo. They have doubled in 3 years (mostly because of common elements insurance i.e. building insurance): that was not part of my FIRE plan! And I had a gut feeling that the monthly cost was getting into the same territory as a single family home (SFH) monthly cost. Also for reference, my investment property (which is located in a Top 5 US city and in prime / landmark neighborhood) has now the same HOA and not comparable to a condo on the Treasure Coast, FL. So I visited couple of SFH in town (most were built in the 50s) and realized that even with a new roof, impact windows; a 50s CBS SFH is quite expensive to insure ($3k / year with wind, no flood). After 6-8 houses, I moved on and extended my search perimeter to another town (and another county but still in the Treasure Coast), and ‘voila’: I visited a new home and HOI dropped to ~$900 / year with wind, no flood. It’s not in a FEMA flood zone, nor in an evacuation zone. So I signed a contract for a to-be-built new CBS SFH, it’s only 5 mins farther from my favorite surf spot.
It has all the amenities of a 2020s home: open concept, kitchen island, tiles all over, shower niche, recessed lighting, soft closing cabinets, etc… and of course is 100% built up to Code with impact windows and doors (garage is ‘inside’ the house) and hip roof (with the hurricane straps on the trusses), etc… all this contributes greatly to reducing insurance. This took me a while, but I figured it out! This SFH monthly cost will be <$100 less expensive per month in 2024 (I did an extremely detailed budget calling Utilities, Insurance, Pest Control, Septic companies, Garbage removal companies, etc…) and the condo has not yet gone through the SIRS (structural integrity reserve study) nor Milestone Inspection; which most likely will bring the HOA higher in 2025; the condo was built in the mid 70s.
I talked about the SFH project to mom and she kindly offered to pay for it (luckily, she will never need the $)
November 2023: Found a last minute <$500 RT ticket MIA (Miami) to Europe (direct) [which is super low for that time of the year] and went back for 2 weeks to attend the closing of the apartment.
December 2023: Had to ‘fight’ with 2 European banks (one would not do it) to wire mom’s gift to the US; although the gift went though an attorney for paperwork and proper registration, European taxes were paid (there is tax equalization between that European country and the US). It was quite exhausting and it took one (1) month to get the funds here in the US!
On the music side, I released 3 sound banks for my synthesizer ‘geeky’ hobby, one is commercial and is / was highly praised which I’m quite proud of. Note: The $ side is neglectable if you dare to ask!
I also read 4 books, I highly recommend Peter Attia ‘Outlive’ and Richard Restak ‘The complete guide to memory’
On the health side, I did a screening colonoscopy (all clear for the next 10 years according to the doctor) for $1,200 (planned expense). I took advantage of a Black Friday promotion and did the 23 and me + Premium DNA test with the 40+ health reports; nothing special here (and no predisposition for Alzheimer nor Parkinson). I also got an Apple Watch Series 8 45mm (the least expensive model, certified refurbished through Apple) which cost me $20 thanks to various Apple Gift Cards I had. After a bit of research, I found this Training / AI Coach App (Athlytic) which I’ve been using for about 2 week and also highly recommend (I’m using it for Surfing, Outdoor Biking and Functional Strength); the data and guidance is right on point (for me at least).
On the money side, it’s all green as well. Been on budget (or below which allowed me to buy 4 non planned hardware synthesizers, one was quite expensive >$3,000 but there were several months where my discretionary was $1.5k below budget this summer; the 3 other ones were around $500 each).
NW is up to $2.690M, Robot Advisor says I can draw safely $4,400 per month (on $1.150M 70/30 portfolio), I’m drawing $2k. But unfortunately HC is going up (and HOA as explained above). HC will be up 17% in 2024 (to $279 per month, including DPC + Health Share + Dental, which I think it still a great deal and I’m extremely satisfied with the service). It was the same for the past 3-4 years, so not too big of a surprise. So I decided I will draw $2.2k per month in 2024. But I will re-assess when I sell the condo here.
That’s my main dilemma right now, either sell the condo and invest the proceeds or rent it. I’m leaning towards selling because if we have a Cat 4 or 5, I will have to pay the HOA (I had this experience with Sandy in NY where the condo was inhabitable for months, but still HOA was due); unsure how the tenant will react; but I would think they could decline to pay the rent (and / or find an attorney that will help them not paying the rent); in that case it could be a big loss even if renting makes more financial sense (I’ve done draft simulations with taxes on both scenarios). If you had a rental in FL during a hurricane (maybe Jeanne and Frances in 2004), please chime in, I’m willing to learn.
Lastly, I was 'kicked out' of Mint and I'm / will be evaluating (in 2024) Quicken Simplifi and Monarch Money as potential replacements (as of now, both have pros and cons and not a 100% Mint replacement, feature-wise): I don't like Credit Karma. If you have other suggestions, let me know.
So that’s it. Now you understand why I did not post much!
I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season, and looking forward to moving to the SFH in 2024!
Cheers
SurfFL
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