Most of the self-made rich folks I know were real estate investors... Single and multi-family rentals - built and bought over years... They also did as much of the work themselves as possible including the 2am toilet clogged because we flushed a diaper phone calls that just happen. Great cash flow opportunities...
Something wife and i were looking at is building a duplex, keeping half for us and renting the other side out... Something small to start off with that produces a revenue stream off the bat.
Viaticals used to be a thing and with the virus and overall declining health (mental and physical) you could gamble on people dying earlier...
I have had some friends who went the slumlord route (and tried to get me to go along with them). Most of them regret it after years of doing it.
Dealing with tenants.
Finding new ones when the old ones leave or default.
Living with neighbors through your walls (if you live in one of your own units).
Dealing with the neighbors.
Dealing with petty town bureaucrats and even sometimes with the cops.
Fixing things at 2:00 AM.
Paying out the nose for repairs they cannot handle.
Complex tax and personal financial situation.
Average returns can look nice, but high standard deviation.
Can make bank or lose your shirt.
Throwing a TON of money into a single illiquid asset completely at the whims of the regional housing market (and I am talking ZIP code level).
Feels like having a second job sometimes.
One of them (more of an enemy than a friend, so this story amuses me) bought a rundown four-unit fixer-upper in a town that was potentially in line for a casino. He thought they would land it, the value would skyrocket, and he would pocket the difference. He spent all of his weekends and PTO for a summer fixing it up, got it going pretty nice, and... the town didn't get it, so the local real estate market stayed depressed.
He bailed soon thereafter. He roughly broke even between the cost of the property and the expenses incurred for fixing it up himself. He did not lose any money on the deal, but he did not claim any remuneration for the 200+ hours of work he put into it.
I am not sure it is worth it when the real return to equities in the long-term is superior to the real return to real estate. I kind of wonder what motivates the OP.
Don't trust the "market?" Think it is a "Wall Street casino?" Well, okay, but its historical performance is far better than all other options.
I would say it is different if it just more of a curiosity -- long as the core of the retirement strategy remains stocks and bonds like they should.
