I got a late start on the retirement investing. Well, that's actually not quite true. I started early enough, I just lost most everything during a multi-year period of physical difficulty. However, the IRA I started some years ago has an average annual return of 12.8% so far, which kinda blows my mind. I've got it balanced extremely aggressively, so maybe that explains it. There has to be potential downside to that, or everybody would select that option. Not sure what the long-term outlook is on keeping up that pace, but it's coming up on 10 years old, and that's a decent chunk of time to show a track record. (That might go in the happy thread, 'cuz I'm pretty happy with that return.)
If I stick with this job, there will be a pension....won't be that much since my # of years worked wouldn't be high enough to really make the formula equal a lot, but much better than nothing. And whatever little bit SS gets me. If that's still solvent.
I've always been attracted to rental property as an investment, but for various reasons, never been able to pull the trigger on it. I'm at or nearing the age where I likely need to do something about that or forget it, because I don't want to get to retirement age and still carry a note on rental property. I know the income hypothetically takes care of the note, but I don't want that uncertainty of a rental property sitting empty, with me still owing on it, when I'm retired.
I'm not going to manage a property myself. I probably wouldn't want to anyway, but physically I can't do some of the repairs that would potentially need doing, certainly not in a timely manner. I'd be looking at using a property management company.
I guess I'm curious if any of you have experience in that, and if so, what things to look out for. How would you vet a management company? What do you look for and what do you stay away from? Or just any general advice. If I can talk the wife into it, seems kinda like it's now or never.
