Property investing vs starting a family

[BlackSpider]

Hey Jayro,

Wife and I are about in the same position with you and some others here too.
Just gone passed 30 and looking at having the 1st child asap.

Have PPOR and just got 1st IP recently and very glad we have worked hard in the last few years to set up our financial position to the stage it is at before children get involved into the situation. I have always believed setting up a good base before having kids is very important.

Funny thing is I have 2 friends who both had 2 properties, then went and had 2 and 3 kids in their mid 20's. Now they are both renting out west (previouly lived east) with no properties and no equity. I think they weren't ready for kids and got caught up in materialism and just went downhill fast.
Slow and steady is the way to go.

Good luck with all.

 

[ethereal]

I am 29, husband 33 and we have 2 little ones, number 1 at 25 and number 2 at 27. We bought our second house when I was 7 months pregnant, turning our first into an IP as we were growing too large for it. I remember it being very exciting but a little scary as my $50k income was about to vanish. Both houses were queenslanders and we renovated them simultaneously. After work we would work on one each at night. I punched all the nails in one with an 8 month huge belly by scooting about an a skateboard My workmates were so horrified that I was doing all this when they were arranging the baby shower that they organised a working bee where everyone came and scrubbed walls with sugarsoap so we could paint. It really was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me!

After a couple of years watching prices rise and telling ourself we couldn't afford another on one wage, one day over a beer we thought well why can't we? And so we left our 2 year old with Mum and Dad, packed the 4 month old (breast fed ) into the car and went for a weekend to Gladstone to check things out. It was fun, we bought a house as a result and all is great.

Anyhow, I went back to work teaching part time 6 weeks after number one but decided to give up the balancing act as of this year. The result of having more time to think means I get more ideas and I always like to have a little something on the go, so we are now doing a dual occupancy development. I have the time to manage that as I am home during business hours, though the children make it more challenging. My 2yo son punched our builder in the b***s yesterday - at this rate he'll be off on compo before he starts.

Sorry my reply is so long but I wanted to tell you that you can have your cake and eat it, even though kids like to put grubby fingers in the icing and then wipe it on your clean white shirt . Tis lucky they make 'em cute.

 

[Tizzy]

You could move in to total dumps like we did when our kids were young, renovate them and value add, move and do it again! I thought it beat working for a living anyway.

 

[Ruby]

No matter how much you love a property, it wont love you back like a child will.

Easy choice……….

 

[Dazz]

Really nice story ethereal - you guys sound like good honest folk.

Good luck with your upcoming development, and raising the littlies simultaneously. Re your son's actions against builder.....as my father used to say....you may as well start off as you mean to finish. Great stuff, I had a laugh at that.

 

[devo76]

Are you distinguishing between non-deductible and deductible debt here, or simply focusing on 'I don't want debt against my PPOR'?
Alex

By paying of PPOR it free,s up $350 pw making things more managable on one wage or if we were close to paying it off and had another IP under our belt i would feel better even though we are still carrying some bad debt. Hope that makes sense. I guess its just being certain that each year we are further ahead than the one before.

 

[Twitch]

Have a child, then figure out how/if you buy an IP. Having kids is much more important than owning another property.

 

[tubs]

Without knowing your situation, you could well have both.

Sure, an extra IP or two now might be a struggle, but in 3 or 4 years time, you'll be very happy you did it once you see how much they've gone up. Most people delay investing until they're much older, and as they say, time in the market is of utmost importance.

Just consider how you'll handle the risk, ie cash buffer, wife going back to work (even part time), living off the equity, looking at higher yield places etc. What's the downside? Having to sell one or both of them?

When my wife stopped working for 2 years when we had kids, we used credit cards a lot. Eventually we refinanced an IP and paid it all off. Maybe not advisable, but the CG we've accumulated in that time made it all worth it.

 

[lizzie]

Plus your wife doesn't have to be a stay at home mum...she can go back to work after maternity leave part time.

or she can get involved in property - i recall breastfeeding junior at an auction, and while doing an inspection i had to change her nappy (discretely) on a bedroom floor ... now that she is 4, she loves to visit mum's "old" houses to have a nosy and do a bit of maintenance - and on the promise of an icecream on the way home, she's good for a whole day helping out .. although she does like visiting the display centres more

p.s. i took 2 weeks to fall pregnant with my first at 34 ... my, same age, sis-in-law took 5 years and numerous ivf treatments (had her baby last year) - don't leave it two late in case nature doesn't take it's course.

 

[TheCamel]

i'd choose kids over investment.

however, my partner doesn't want them yet either..

 

[mmmggg]

Success is not just money.

Have the kids. You have stacks of money and are forward smart thinkers. You'll be fine.

 

[Superstitionist]

Go for the kids... but have to be ONE at a time...

The reason...when I was waiting for my 3rd child, it turned out to be a twins...since then, my life is pretty much upside down and the investment plan is totally out of the windows...start from larger pram, larger vechile, to larger hourse...be afraid, be very afraid...

 

[bronwynt]

I had to bring this thread back up, I just had my first little baby two weeks ago and it is just the best experience ever.

Hubby and I have been into property buying and renoing for a few years now and we were umming and ahhring about whether to wait another year and get another property or have a little one (him 35, me 31) so we decided to do both. We just changed our ideal IP location from bayside Melbourne to a cheapy in the country.

I think most of the time, you just make it happen, even if it may mean making some sacrifices for a short time, it is so worth doing.

Being pregnant did not stop me with my hands on work either, I was 7 months pregnant when we went out to the country to do our two week reno, and when I was 4 days over due and bored with sitting around the house I tiled the kitchen splashback (in the hope of bringing on labour, which did not work).

Here is a picture of Georgia at 5 days old.

Bronwyn.

 

[burty85]

Im 22 and got my PPOR at 21 and also became a daddy at 22 and we are doing ok, have to miss a few of the wants, but still can afford all the needs lol... I say go for it man, cant go wrong.... And im going to be looking for a 2nd IP next yr if all is going well...

 

[Jayro]

Thanks again for the replies.

Congratulation Bronwyn. Your bubs Georgia is absolutely gorgeous. Reading your reply along with all the others has really helped me out, so thanks. We have been planning for things for a little while now including paying off alot extra on our PPOR etc. We then today fixed our IP loan for the next 3 yrs so thats now a done deal and one less thing to worry about. Plan is now to keep looking and Im hoping to find a place that costs me around $50/wk out of pocket before worring about how much the tax man will give back to me etc. Im sure they are out there. We had a little ripper in Wangarrata Vic but we sold it to buy our PPOR up here on the coast after some crappy advice and us having no idea at the time. Now we obviously would have kept it as well as getting our PPOR but anyhow lesson learned. It was neutrally geared so something like that again would be nice. Like many of you have said I think within reason and keeping a level head I think we can manage both.

Jayro!

 

[GinB]

You become less fertile after what 30??? What alot of hogwash.....Statistcly thats what they say but hey i'm 39 & just gave birth to twins less than 6 weeks ago, also a mother to 2 grown up boys as well..And no there was no IVF or fertility drugs involved, it was all done ala natural....Was it a surprise??Absolutely..Was it planned?? Not at all. But we wouldnt change it for the world. Being parents again at this age is sooo much better than when i was 28 & 30. Why? Because we feel we are alot wiser & calmer. It really has given us a new lease on life & i thank God everyday for this incredible blessing....Yes we have IP properties plus a residential home & on a moderate wage & i have not worked full time since the birth of my first child, 11 years ago. But who says you cant have it all??? As long as you carefully manage your risk & do it all within your means & that you dont jepodise your financial status you can too be blessed with children & at the same time grow your property portfolio. You are still very young & have many good years ahead of you to do it at a very comfortable pace, there's no rush...You will also need to enjoy raising your children as they do grow up so very quickly...So GOOD LUCK with it all!

Rgds.
Gina.

 

[Joker]

Go the kids! Kids are a more important investment. Who else is going to look after you when your old and rich

 

[Pandabites]

go for both!!

Hi..I don't often have time to post, but wanted to add a bit to the great advice already given.

Basically a repeat - you will definitely be able to have both, IPs and the little family you/your wife want. Don't worry about the money too much, just keep it all in perspective. Kids - do they cost a lot or not? Really depends on yourself, will they remember if you have a second hand pram to push them around in when a baby or that they didn't get the newest, you beaut toy when 2 years old? Probably not, it's the love and affection that they will remember...

Which naturally falls into place with your (potential) IP purchases, where cash shortfall is always a big concern - one poster mentioned using credit cards as a back up and getting rid of the debt at a later stage by selling an IP. Always an option or a psuedo LOE strategy for a short period of time to cover any shortfall you may have (assuming that there is a buffer, in addition to the $30K you have saved). But as always, discretion here is needed so you don't go overboard.

My story in brief, we just bought 2 more properties in SE Qld (5 in total now) and I had my little girl, Sif, 2 weeks after they settled. She is now 4 months old, the properties are kicking along just fine, as is she - waking me with a big gummy grin every morning. .

However, I do have it a little easier here, thanks to the generous welfare/maternity leave payment systems that exist in Scandinavian countries, so understand your concern about not having an extra income and trying to service the properties. One suggestion (not new), perhaps try for 6 months living on just one wage to see how you go - the worse that can happen is that you've saved an extra XXXX during that time while living frugally and then you can see if you are ready and financially able to take the plunge.

Also, about fertility dropping after 25 years - have also read/heard many tales about this, so assume that there must be some truth behind it. However, there are so many stories to the contrary as well, not just on this forum. I'm about to turn 34 and got pregnant just before turning 33 - easily too, just 3 months off the pill and bam! Perhaps the research that I/we have been reading is a bit outdated or from a generation ago (don't know, just a guess as so many nowadays are delaying having children until at least 30 years of age..)

Must go, baby needs night feed - hope this helps

 

[Daniela]

My suggestion is start a family

I am 32 at the moment and trying to have a baby for the last four years. I've been on the IVF rollercoaster for one year now and with not much luck. It's unbelievable costly and not very successfull as far as Iam concerned.
If I had my time back I would off started to think about having family early. So I hope this will make you think about it a bit more and help you make the right decision.
Good luck

 

[quoll]

Do both

We had 3 kids by the time wife was 26 I was 29 then we started investing and we where only on $50k had dropped from contracting on $75k so we thought better do something NOW!

There is no reason why you can't do both, you need to think and be more creative. It will be harder, that's a given, but it is do able. Others have been there done that.

cheers
quoll