This time last year we were not dividend or real estate focused. I was low-key obsessed with buying rentals but kept letting deals go because at the end of the day, I didn’t want yet ANOTHER job to take up my time. The whole point of FIRE is time freedom, there’s no freedom when the strategy is to buy a job. So I did a deep dive and obsessed (it’s a pattern) with a way to get cake and eat it to.
It was also during the time that shit hit the fan in the market and we went from 30%+ annual gains in the stock market to -25%+ in few short months. Tech imploded, again. But I had already been hedging against the market downturn a month or so before it hit but selling our crypto positions and placing our holdings into more stable assets like a high interest bearing cash account to redeploy after the drop.
Shortly after the market began to implode, I started value shopping REITs. The downturn allowed for great deals and even to this day, I’m snatching up these bargain shares before their return to value. REITs are so risky, many just erode value over time but I’ve done research on the ones we’re in and expect them to not only increase in share value over time, but to also increase their dividends. The structure allows me to invest in real estate in a more liquid manor than actually holding the properties myself. It also takes all the work out of the equation so I can play. The way I see it, if I can only get a ROI of 10% to 15% annually on rentals (less now with raised interest rates) and rentals require me to do more work or pay (lower ROI) a property management company, why not buy REITs that produce 10%+ dividends and reap the same benefits without the work?
This time last year we were earning maybe $25/month in dividends. After selling the house in April and re-deploying the funds we’re now set to average $641/month. That’s a good deal if you ask me! Besides REITs, we’re also in some choice 4%+ dividend stocks. Note: I will not release what exact investments we’re in because it brings up a whole new can of legal worms that I refuse to deal with.
