It's not impossible. Thanks to Jimmy Carter, many my age had to start their careers in his wake of stupid monetary policies and double-digit interest rates which took several years to overcome. When you're stuck in the pool, you don't have much option except to start swimming. To be sure, now is a sucky time to start new careers in general. What's scary is some statistics say that 27% of people 59 and older haven't saved anything for retirement. And even worse for Gen Z.
As far as being a slum-lord and buying property, sure, that's one possible way. But you just tied up $1 million in liquidity into 3 pieces of real-estate which isn't always quickly turned into cash if you need it fast. And now you have to do due diligence to vet the stewards of your properties that are going to live in them and hopefully be timely with the rents. This doesn't even account for maintenance, repairs, and property management, whether you do it yourself or hire it out, and also makes your tax returns longer (and you have to declare any positive cash flow that calender year without any deferrals, which could potentially put you in a higher tax bracket).
I used to rent out our other home, which was paid for, and for me, it's simply just a PITA that I found out I didn't want or need. Of course, there's +/- to renting out your houses, but unless you're into that sort of thing, which I am not, it's definitely not a situation meant for everyone. It was a huge relief to me when we decided to sell it. Personally, I'd diversify the f**k out of that $1 million and reap in more stable income sources. But that's just me. Real estate is geographical and lately, kind of "bubbly" depending on where you live. But, you do you. If that flips your skirt, have at it. If I were going to do money grabs, apartment buildings are usually more cash flow positives.
If you have to finance any of those extra homes, though, it's going to suck. Especially if you have good credit. Thanks to "new and improved" mortgage policies coming to a bank near you on May 1, there's an even more financially stupid move coming. Some people work hard to keep their credit rating high so in the event they need to borrow, they should get the better rates. But soon, people with mediocre credit (FICO score <680) will get a better deal than you when buying a home. They say it only affects people buying second homes and non-primary residences, but I'm not so sure. Haven't read into it a lot, but basically, the higher-risk lenders are going to get subsidized by those with better credit. Just another reason to pay with cash.
Courtesy of the NY Times article
https://nypost.com/2023/04/16/how-t...buyers-at-the-cost-of-those-with-good-credit/
"Under the new rules, high-credit buyers with scores ranging from 680 to above 780 will see a spike in their mortgage costs – with applicants who place 15% to 20% down payment experiencing the biggest increase in fees."
