Do you feel stagnant? Or maybe worse, do you feel that you're so far behind you can't catch up? After looking how much I've amassed in retirement savings - working diligently throughout my career to save up - and realizing the massive gap compared to what I "should" save up by now, I began to wonder how I would ever catch up.
My retirement blues led me to reflect back on an old book: Rich Dad Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki). I listened to it again recently and wondered why I never took action after reading it the first time, oh so many years ago. Now I'm on a mission to figure it out - because it's later, but not yet too late. Not only am I on a mission for me personally, but I also want to encourage others (Main Street) to join me on this journey... regardless if you're 40 years from retiring or less than 10 to go.
Housing costs (Rent Cafe average Portland rent $1,633/month) are eating up more than 50% of our take home pay (calculation on $50k =net $38k). If you want to buy, the average home price in Portland is $536,900 (according to Best Places on 10/16/21). A mortgage for this average home at 4% interest over 30 years, with 10% down would be about $2,300/month (not including property taxes, insurance, or mortgage insurance - not to mention utilities or upkeep).
So how do you get ahead?
Some good news finally. Oregon has created some new zoning options for Missing Middle housing that everyday people like you and me (Main Street) can capitalize on. There are opportunities to build community and build wealth through real estate. There is House Bill (HB2001) and Senate Bill (SB458) that go into full effect by 7/1/2022 that expands our housing choices. Portland has already implemented Residential Infill Project (RIP phase 1) and will be rolling out RIP2 soon. RIP2 will consider the SB458 legislative mandates as well.
All this to say that there are opportunities to find (or develop) more affordable housing AND build up some savings for retirement.
Let's say you're in Portland and fortunate to have a home with a big back yard. The new laws will allow you to put a duplex in your backyard and they would even allow you to split your lot and sell it. This would help reduce your housing costs (either from the sale of the property or from the additional income from the rental units) and create more affordable housing for your new neighbor at the same time. ADU's (Accessory Dwelling Unit) have already been allowed, but now you can also add a second ADU. Currently, SDC (System Development Charges) are being waived for new ADUs, making this another pretty good option.
Of course there are challenges with creating these new options. But that's for another blog post. For now, noodle on the idea of creating community and building wealth through real estate and let's go on this journey together.
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