Our story begins more than two years ago when we decided to do something a bit differently--some might even say drastic. Russell and I started challenging what we had learned about money, financial planning and retirement investing. Unlike 401ks and the stock market, investing in real estate made a lot more rational sense to us. We have been managing long-term rental properties for almost 10 years, but in 2016 we bought our first beach condo vacation rental in Gulf Shores.
After which, a year full of learning and planning led us to researching our next endeavor. This time, we moved a step closer to where we might like to be ourselves. Maybe it wouldn't be as much ROI as our previous investment, but more "our style" than the first attempt. However, after months of online searching and two full days of property visits with two different realtors, we were discouraged with our options--finding higher priced properties without similarly higher rental income to support the investment. Quite by accident, not expecting to find anything worthwhile, we visited an open house in a new neighborhood development. As we wandered from room to room, I believe my words echoed what we were all thinking.
"I COULD LIVE HERE."
But of course, we were 8 hours from home and there were many things to consider. Still, everything seemed to be falling into place. Expensive home insurance? No. Flood insurance, though? Lower than expected. Poor school district? Actually, A+ schools. Mortgage? More, but without state taxes it was close. But, could we bring Kylee's loft bed? Yes. No deal breaker there but a major concern for a 10 year old girl. As we drove back from our beach weekend debating the pros and cons of making this dream a reality, there was just one big question left. Could we bring our jobs with us? Once we learned that was a possibility, that's when the adventure really began.