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Or if you've got any other financial.

Jill Schlesinger (3:06)

Question, all you need to do is.

Mark (3:08)

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Jill Schlesinger (3:14)

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Mark (3:15)

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Jill Schlesinger (3:19)

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Jill Schlesinger (3:30)

We refresh it quite often.

Mark (3:32)

Okay, right now let's go talk to.

Jill Schlesinger (3:35)

Lynn, who's on the line from Los Angeles.

Mark (3:38)

Lynn, first and foremost, you okay?

Lynn (3:40)

Yes, we're doing well. We're doing well.

Mark (3:43)

It's a big area, but so many people impacted. I'm sure that everybody in LA knows somebody who is impacted by this tragedy. So a lot of good thoughts sending out to you out there and will obviously change your city for a long time. Are you a lifelong Los Angeleno?

Lynn (4:01)

I am, I am.

Jill Schlesinger (4:02)

Wow.

Mark (4:04)

So this is pretty stunning for you. I mean, how does it feel?

Lynn (4:08)

Surreal. Surreal.

Mark (4:10)

Yeah, I know. It's like I keep thinking about what it was like in New York after 9, 11 and it was that same surreal feeling like, did that just happen? That did just happen. Oh my God. That just happened. So anyway, we're sending all of our good thoughts out to you and your, your friends out there. So tell us what brings you to us since it is not wildfire relief. What's going on for you?

Lynn (4:34)

So I just sold my primary residence and really happy about that and I have a good chunk of change in proceeds and I'm not sure what to do next. I'm not sure what my next step is. I'm renting. I just signed a one year lease and I'm in a lovely rental right now. But I live in a high cost state to rent and a high cost state to purchase. So I'm really not sure. I'm 54 years old. So when I look at the mortgage rent versus buy calculators, since I may live, you know, hopefully 30 more years, God willing. Yes. You know, it seems to lean towards buying because of my timeline, but you know, also the factors of where I live and I don't want to, I don't want to leave my area. I have, you know, lifelong family and friends here.

Mark (5:39)

Okay. All right. Well, this is interesting. I mean, first of all, if you are a. If you're will, if you really want to stay there, there's going to be a number of issues that are now going compound the questions that would have existed just two months ago.

Jill Schlesinger (5:55)

Right. So let's start with a few facts.

Mark (5:57)

You said you're 54. Are you single partnered or married?

Lynn (6:00)

Partnered.

Mark (6:01)

Okay. And partner. And you live together?

Lynn (6:05)

Yes.

Mark (6:05)

Okay, got it. And are you both working?

Lynn (6:09)

Yes.

Mark (6:10)

Okay. Do you combine your finances or not?

Lynn (6:13)

We do not.

Mark (6:14)

Okay, so separate finances, but that means that you can defray some of the costs of the living expenses. Would the partner be in a place to be able to buy with you or not?

Lynn (6:27)

The plan we've talked about is, yes, us buying together and having a mortgage together. But I would more likely I'm in a better position to put the down payment on a, on a home. Okay. We've. We're working on an agreement with a, with a real estate attorney right now.

Mark (6:48)

Okay.

Lynn (6:50)

To just protect those funds.

Mark (6:52)

Yep, I get that. That's smart. So right now you sold your primary residence. What are the proceeds that are sitting in the, the, the bank account or investment account right now?

Lynn (7:03)

I came out with a little over a million dollars.

Mark (7:07)

That's a good number. Yeah, that's a real number. Wow.

Lynn (7:11)

It feels nice in my bank account right now.

Mark (7:13)

So if I'm. Wow, that's just very warm. Warm and comforting to me. I know that. Gosh, I mean, especially right now, having some cash on hand is not a terrible thing. Are you still working, Lynn?

Lynn (7:23)

I am, yes.

Mark (7:24)

And how much do you earn?

Lynn (7:26)

A little over $100,000.

Mark (7:28)

And partner earns how much?

Lynn (7:31)

Between 150, 1,000 and 175.

Mark (7:34)

Okay. So partner has, like, better cash flow, but you have more cash on hand. Yes, I get it now. Okay. And so if I were looking ahead and just thinking about buying, what would you have to pay? I mean, and now, again, it's going to be much more difficult. We knew that the area already had a housing shortage and a real estate problem, and now with the fires, this is going to only be, you know, sort of exacerbated. So what, what is it do you think you would need to purchase, like, the amount of money that would get you into a house that. Or in a, or an apartment or co op that you would like to live in?

Lynn (8:14)

You know, the, the idea as of now would be to buy a fixer upper to buy a distressed property, but still, that would probably still cost a million. Two to a million. Four. Five.

Mark (8:31)

Okay. 1.2 to 1.5. You have the million dollars in the proceeds? That's just hanging out. What about other assets that you have?

Lynn (8:41)

Okay, I have 160 in my Roth.

Mark (8:45)

Okay.

Lynn (8:46)

I have 18 in an IRA.

Mark (8:49)

Okay.

Lynn (8:51)

I have a beneficiary IRA with $30,000. My brokerage total, including the proceeds.

Mark (9:01)

Yep.

Lynn (9:01)

Is 1930.

Mark (9:03)

So you had nine hundred and thirty in the brokerage plus the million dollar of the proceeds. Okay.

Lynn (9:09)

Yes. And then I have about 75,000 cash on hand.

Mark (9:13)

And what about in your workplace? Do you have a workplace plan or are you just on your hundred thousand or so? Do you have any benefit available to you or are you just. Nothing.

Lynn (9:25)

I'm self employed. I'm self employed.

Mark (9:27)

Okay, got it. Partner. Does partner have some stability, even if not, you know, the $2 million in a brokerage account, but some stability that would allow him or her to contribute to the down payment or not?

Lynn (9:43)

Honestly, they could, but I don't think it's the. I don't think it's the right choice for them.

Mark (9:49)

Okay.

Lynn (9:50)

Because from their divorce, their, you know, they start. They kind of had to restart financially later in life. Yeah. And they're older than me. A little bit older. Six years older. So I think having the retirement cash, you know, is more important.

Mark (10:08)

Okay, gotcha. And no pension for partner.

Lynn (10:12)

No.

Mark (10:12)

Okay. So as we look ahead, what do you think the time horizon is? Do you want to like pull the trigger and get this going as quickly as possible or are, you know, how are you feeling about it?

Lynn (10:23)

I don't know. I'm very flexible person.

Mark (10:27)

So that's.

Lynn (10:27)

It's great. Great. And it's also, I don't know, challenging because I could go a lot of ways.

Mark (10:36)

I mean, because not outside, but not, but not out of la. You're not that flexible. Yeah, that's the one that's. So that I just want to make sure we got that. So that is the one absolute. Here you say I'm not leaving la.

Lynn (10:51)

No, not at this point, no.

Mark (10:53)

A lifelong Angelina deserves to stay. It's fine. That's totally fine. So what prompted the sale of the primary residence anyway?

Lynn (11:02)

It was a condominium. I didn't. I thought it was going to be very low maintenance. It seemed like a pretty new building. I thought, I thought it was just life was going to be easy and it wasn't. It was a four unit building and so there wasn't a lot of people to handle the workload and I ended up doing a lot of it and I just was not enjoying it at all.

Mark (11:29)

So you are a handy Gal one would say, because you are willing to do the fixer upper and do the work. And so you'd move into this so called fixer upper. It's very funny for people to hear this who are not in high cost of living areas where you'd have to, you know, shell out the money. And you don't have to do this for a year because you just signed a one year lease. So you could let. Yes.

Lynn (11:52)

Or I could be doing it while I'm in the rental.

Mark (11:55)

Yep. So are you actively. Have you been. I mean, this is crazy to say this, but have you actively been looking right now? Because I feel like the market is dislocated right now. But has it been. Maybe I'm wrong.

Lynn (12:09)

I had. Well, I was looking. I mean, I just moved on the second. So like everything's super recent.

Jill Schlesinger (12:15)

Yeah.

Lynn (12:16)

But yeah, I'm still getting, you know, my inbox, I'm still. For my realtor, I'm still getting listings. I drive by things.

Mark (12:23)

So if you were to do this and we took the proceeds, I mean, right now you kind of can't afford to put a lot of this money at risk because, you know, in six months you might say, hey, I need a half a million dollars to buy this fixer upper. I'm going to get a million dollar mortgage or something or maybe some portion of that. And then you need the other money to like, you can't put all of the million dollars down. Right. So you'd put some portion down. You'd keep at least the half a million probably in your back pocket to do the work along the way, right? Yeah.

Lynn (13:02)

Correct.

Mark (13:03)

Okay. Is your idea that you would not touch any other funds from the brokerage account, just use the proceeds to do whatever you're going to do next?

Lynn (13:10)

Yes, correct.

Mark (13:11)

Okay, got it. What do you think your expenses are right now? Like, how are you living? Your new rent is how much?

Lynn (13:20)

$6,000 a month.

Mark (13:21)

Okay. And so with that with. And plus other expenses. What's. What's what we would call your burn rate. What are you spending every month?

Lynn (13:29)

Probably $8,000.

Mark (13:31)

You only spend two grand a month? Oh, because. No, but I'm spending only on top of the rent. You have six grand?

Lynn (13:36)

Well, the rent is. I'm splitting it with my partner.

Mark (13:40)

Got it. So you're only on the hook for three. Yes, I got you. And so you're spending eight total. Okay, got it. All right, perfect. Well, that's pretty good. You live, you don't live like high in the hog for sure.

Lynn (13:53)

No, no. But I'M yeah, I enjoy my life, but I'm not too extravagant.

Mark (13:58)

All right, well, you're doing great. You're putting a lot of money away. So what's the key issue that you are struggling with right now?

Lynn (14:06)

Is it smart to buy something or am I better off? Better off just renting and having the, you know, the flexibility.

Mark (14:16)

Well, here's how I look at this. I think the market is going to be very odd, and it could be that if you happen to find something in your price range, it might be a pretty good idea to take advantage of that. Because I'm concerned that this housing shortage is only going to get worse. And I think there's going to be a lot of people who are looking, not necessarily for a fixer upper, but they're looking to, like, hurry up and buy something quickly and maybe they'd flip it later. So I feel like that 1.2 to 1.5 could easily become 2 million in two years. And that's just the unique nature of the LA market. Nothing is bad about renting, okay? There really is nothing bad. It's just a question of how much your rent is. So if you're renting something at six grand a month, right? And then all of a sudden you look and you say, well, six grand a month sounds pretty good. If our fixer upper now costs 2 million plus 2 1/2 million, I mean, sorry, it costs 2 million to get in and then another half or 700,000 to fix it up. Because make no mistake, getting contractors, actual repairs, doing the work, it's going to get more expensive. I know this from my personal experience of dealing with Sandy here on the east coast, where I had many friends who were rebuilding, and the price went up by, you know, 20 to 30% for everything. Just because you couldn't get builders. And the builders, it wasn't like they were gouging so much. It was just like, that's supply and demand. They only had so much time. So I'm considering this as like, if you had to, let's say you had to rent for three years and you threw some money out the window, that would really be kind of like the outside, I think the. I don't know. We'll see. I just don't know how long this is all going to take. But I do think that you're going to have a lot of stuff that comes on the market. But I think there's going to be a lot of people flooding to the market trying to say, I want to buy, I want to get in we just don't know like if there's going to be net migration. Meaning is this going to be a case where a lot of the people are like, eh, screw it, I'm out of here and they go to Arizona or they go to Texas, or is it going to be like you, hey, I'm a lifelong Angeleno and I'm sticking around. I'm going to rebuild. And what happens next is, you know, we'll see. So I think in, in the proceeds category, we know you have at least a year before you really need anything. So right now, that money that's in cash, I might try to lock in some rate of return for at least half the money. You know, maybe it would be in a, I don't know, six month, maybe it's a one year treasury just to get that money invested and earning income. Because if you leave it in a money market and interest rates stay where they are, it's fine. What's the money market earning right now? 3 and 4, 3 to 4 or something like that. I think 4.5, 4.5 is good. That'll go down though. So I think that maybe we got to try to think about like making sure we lock in some of the money just in case rates go down. I mean, they're not going down anytime soon, but they will, I think maybe one more time this year and maybe be flexible and keep looking and know that a lot of that, a lot of this money just can't be put to work because I don't know whether or not you're going to need it. If you found something that you liked and you ran those calculators, right, and you say, okay, I'm running it, maybe even hard because what are you renting now? A two bedroom?

Lynn (17:48)

Yes.

Mark (17:49)

Okay, so are we comparing apples to apples? Are you look only looking at like a three bedroom house?

Lynn (17:55)

I mean, yeah, I mean probably three bedroom, right?

Jill Schlesinger (17:58)

So it's not exactly apples to apples.

Mark (18:00)

But when you look at that. Hey, Mark, do me a Favor, run a $1 million 30 year fixed rate mortgage for me. What's the cost on that? Whatever it is? We're going to, you know, I presume it's going to be a lot more than you're six grand a month, right. So that means you have a few years where renting will make sense versus buying. And it may be that you have more than a few years. I just think that it's hard for us to make the decision to go out and invest this because normally if you said I'm never Going to buy. We just put that money to work for you and say, go on, move on. Okay, but if you are preserving the right to buy, maybe we just hang.

Jill Schlesinger (18:46)

Out for a year.

Mark (18:47)

You might decide in a year from now if like the total cost of buying and fixing that home up is, you know, two and a half million dollars, or by the way, maybe your rent changes. We're gonna have a different decision point in a year, I think, because we'll know. I mean, I don't know where you are, but I presume all rents are gonna rise. You know, not gouging rise, but, you know, just gonna rise. There's more people, there are gonna be more renters, and that's going to put pressure on the market as well. So I don't know, I'm sort of feeling like we got a year to just kind of chill out. Let's make sure you have that money invested so that it's earning that 4.5%. That's great. Whether it stays in a money market or maybe into a short term treasury, either way. And then I think you have another decision to make in a year from now or within the next bunch of months, hey, look, maybe find something. Maybe you're like, oh my God, you know, now this house is turning over. People don't want to do the work, and I'm willing to do the work and maybe you can get something. So, Mark, you have any answers for me? Are you just sitting there doing nothing? Yeah, six. About 6,600. So 6,600 is principal and interest. Your homeowner's insurance is going to skyrocket and I can't even imagine. So, you know, that's going to be. You got a long Runway of being a good renter. Even if that rent went from six to 8,000amonth, it's still gonna be a way better deal because to me, the principal interest homeowners is probably gonna add like a sick amount of money. Like then you're at 8,000 and then you have to pay property taxes, which are expensive, I know, in California. So now you're really talking about probably somewhere around. Let's just ballpark it. Let's say it's 10 grand a month, okay, for principal, interest, homeowners and taxes. Okay. And that gives you a long time before you really have to like think about, oh, my rent, my rent would have to go up a lot, right, to manage that. Now, it is also true that the 10 is not all yours, right? It's.

Jill Schlesinger (20:45)

You're sharing the burden.

Mark (20:46)

But 6 to 10 is a big difference. So definitely, I think that when you're looking at a lot of these properties that you're considering, depending on where they are, I think you really have to be aware of what is my risk. What. And you know, by the way, I understand that Zillow has this new part of their website where they are factoring climate issues into the cost of the home and like the risk that you carry. And, and so I think that renting might be just a fine idea for a couple years before and let's see how the market settles out. And if something fell in your lap, you're ready to pounce. But I wouldn't be in a huge hurry because you have a place to live. And is this an individual home or are you living in a, in a unit somewhere?

Lynn (21:34)

It's a home. It's a home. It's very comfortable. It's very. I feel very fortunate to have found it.

Mark (21:40)

And these folks who are your landlords, they're decent human beings.

Lynn (21:45)

So far I have no idea.

Mark (21:46)

There's a, there's a management company, individual.

Lynn (21:50)

Real estate agent slash property manager who seems lovely.

Mark (21:54)

Okay. All right. Well, so far so good then. I feel like this is not a bad thing. I like the idea that you guys are maybe gonna paper a deal between the two of you. And how much longer are you gonna work? You gonna like, you know, you're self employed.

Jill Schlesinger (22:08)

How's your boss? Pain in the ass.

Mark (22:10)

Right.

Lynn (22:10)

It's very difficult.

Mark (22:11)

Very, very difficult and demanding.

Lynn (22:14)

I don't see any end. I don't know. I'm not. Yeah, okay.

Mark (22:17)

All right.

Lynn (22:18)

I like having something to do. I need to fill my day somehow.

Mark (22:21)

All right, well, I think we're. And so really I've given you no answer, which is not very, which is basically very annoying. But I have one more question. Do it.

Lynn (22:29)

What about like, should I take. There's no way I'm gonna put a million down on a house. Right. You know, probably 800 would be the, the max. Max I would do.

Mark (22:39)

Yeah.

Lynn (22:39)

Is it worth it to take like 200 of the proceeds and put it in the, into the market somewhere?

Mark (22:44)

Well, only if you can guarantee me that the market will go up. If you can, then I'm all. I'm a board with that plan. If you can do that, I'm ready to rock and roll.

Jill Schlesinger (22:53)

Here's the risk.

Mark (22:55)

Let's say it's eight months from now and something falls in your lap. Things are going to fall in people's laps. Believe me. This is like times of uncertainty. And like basically panic breed weird opportunities. So someone you know in your life is going to be like, oh my God, my parents, they just, they can't, they don't want to deal. Anyone have like a million dollars in cash right now to do this, like, or anyone who can just move fast. And you would be moving fast and then, you know, then starting work, right? And so if you need to access, you would need to start to access some of these funds. Like, what if you did have to, what if someone said you can have a three bedroom house and instead of a one and a half, it's one point and you could just buy it in cash and figure it out later. And you might be like, I'm going to do that. But if you're in the market and the market's down, you know, there are a lot of things that, that cash can do for you in terms of opportunity. And I'm not suggesting you should, you should have cash, but it might be a situation where you could be like, I could use this, I can blow my cash, I could be fine and I could rebuild or I can get a short, I can get a half a million dollar loan and put, you know, my 600 grand down and get this property that I want to get. But once you put it in the market, it could work, right? If, market, if it were like, okay.

Jill Schlesinger (24:16)

The beginning, if you called me in.

Mark (24:18)

The beginning of 2024 then, and the market went up, you know, 25%, you'd be like, awesome, it worked. But if it were the beginning of 2022 and it was down by 20 or 25%, you'd be pissed. So I don't know, I can't, I have no idea in the short term what's really going to happen, you know. So I just feel like, yeah, if you are very clear after some months, if all of a sudden you're like, oh, guess what? Fixer uppers are $3 million now, that's different than you're priced out of the market. And then you can put the money to work. But if that's not the case and there's still some possibilities for you, I don't know. I want to preserve my options. That's good advice, is that you feel like that's comfortable. I mean, as long as you feel okay with it. I know it's not exactly what you want to hear and it's not an absolute one way or the other, but there's like a lot of stuff that's, there are a lot of moving pieces in this story. And I want to make sure that we give you as many options as possible. So hopefully, Lynn, the only thing I'm sending you off to do is make sure you get all whatever documents you need to get done with this partner. And keep your eyes out and give us a holler back if you find something that crops up that changes the situation. Okay?

Lynn (25:30)

Great, Great.

Mark (25:31)

Fantastic. Thanks for getting in touch with us. If you are sitting on a pile of cash and maybe you might need it, you can't invest it, right gang? But if you're sitting on a pile of cash and need some help and need some help with priorities, get in touch with us. Go to jillonmoney.com click the contact us button, write us a note, and if you'd like to come on the air, check the box. Mark will do everything else. Don't forget you can sign up for our service Jill on Money Live, where you have access to quarterly live webinars.

Jill Schlesinger (26:01)

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Mark (26:12)

Find your favorite podcast. And of course, lift someone up. Change your work, change your wealth, change your life. Thank you for listening. We'll talk to you tomorrow.

Jill Schlesinger (26:26)

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Jake Brennan (27:44)

Have you heard the Disgraceland Podcast? Do you know about Jerry Lee Lewis wanting to murder Elvis? Or the hip hop star who cannibalized his roommate? What about the murders ACDC was blamed for? Or the suspicious deaths of Brittany Murphy and River Phoenix. These stories and more are told in the award winning Disgraceland podcast, hosted by me, Jake Brennan, every Tuesday, where I dive deep into the dark side of entertainment and the connection between music history and true crime. Lomi's lead singer, Debbie Harry, was shocked when she saw the man's photo in the newspaper. She recognized him. How could she forget? He'd given her a ride years ago, a ride she'd barely escaped from with her life. And now here he was, right there on the front page, accused of kidnapping and killing at least 30 women. And now Debbie Harry finally knew his name. Ted Bundy. Follow and listen to Disgraceland on the Free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.