#381 - Listener Questions: How Do Rental Properties Fit into My Retirement Plan?

This month on the Retirement Answer Man show, we are tackling your listener questions. Although we don't have a monthly theme like we usually do, I am also sharing my random thoughts from the retirement scene. If you miss the monthly theme, you can look forward to July and August.

In July we’ll be discussing your withdrawal strategy for retirement and August will be a month dedicated to women in retirement. Since I can’t speak to being a woman, Tanya Nichols will join me then to share her wisdom. Make sure to join us for those month-long topics.

“If you have been enjoying the show, please head over to your favorite podcast app and leave a review!”

Random thoughts on retirement

Real financial planning takes time and isn’t scalable.
Should is a dangerous word. Be careful how you use it.
Generating income to live off of is not a good retirement strategy. Rather than thinking about generating income in retirement, think about total return instead.
In retirement, taxes are all about timing. Limit your taxes by choosing whether to pay them sooner or later.
You can't actually control your emotions, desires, fears. However, you have the choice of whether to nurture them or let them drift by.

What about rental properties in retirement?

Where do rental properties fit into a retirement plan? Rental properties can be fantastic for generating income, but they can also be a lot of work. Of the many people that have rental properties, some choose to continue renting their properties well into retirement. Whether or not you choose to continue as a landlord in retirement should be based on whether you enjoy the work. If you opt to continue having rentals in retirement, they will have their place in your retirement plan just like any other business.

“Whether or not you choose to continue as a landlord in retirement should be based on whether you enjoy the work. ”

Keep the books in order

Just like any business, rentals have revenues and expenses. Make sure to keep a separate set of books on your rentals to understand their cash flow. Keeping the books in order will help you understand the income they generate and how the rental properties fit into your net worth statement. This practice will help you explore how lucrative the properties are and whether you would like to keep them as a way to generate income in retirement. When you understand where you stand with your rental properties you can be more strategic in building your retirement plan.

Incorporating rental properties into your retirement plan

With the books and net worth statement in order, you can start building your retirement plan. Consider how your retirement plan would look with the rental properties in place and also what it would look like if you sold them.

When creating your retirement plan, you’ll want to consider your social capital, human capital, and financial capital. Since the retirement properties are a business that generates income they are considered human capital.

This type of planning will give you a framework to consider whether to sell the properties or keep them. You should also consider your experience.

Do you enjoy keeping rentals or is it work that you dread? What kind of experience have you had with rental properties? Do you plan on keeping your rental properties in retirement?