The US housing market is in turmoil. The people who want homes can’t afford to buy one safely. “Safely” means that their total housing costs won’t exceed 30% of their household income.
Yes, this pricing dynamic is nothing new. The book “The Two-Income Trap” explicitly tells us that in the 1990s, families were sending mothers to work to afford housing in the suburbs.
Today, to afford a home, both parents must work, plus you will need support from parents or other means. When you get into a house, you’ll struggle even more financially. Property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs sit at all-time highs, and local governments require more funding than ever.
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What are your options? Renting is never a long-term solution to your housing woes. You won’t participate in the rise of housing prices; conversely, rising property taxes won’t slow you down.
I am starting this series to explore more options for homebuyers today. You can go broke trying to keep up with the Joneses by living in the top (or even basic) suburban neighborhoods. If you are not making good choices, buying a home could set you back 20-30 years.
What are Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)? REITs are business entities that purchase all forms of real estate and mortgages. My series “Introduction to REITs” is a must-read (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4).
Most REITs trade on the stock market, but there are few options outside of equities. In part five of my series, “Fundrise vs. REIT Stocks,” I discuss how Fundrise differs from investing in the stock market.
Fundrise vs. Homeownership. Today, let’s compare owning a large Fundrise account (affiliate link) versus a home. I will make assumptions based on my current Fundrise holdings. Keep in mind that I can’t predict the future of Fundrise, the stock market, or US home prices. Let’s begin.
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My current Fundrise holdings. I started investing in Fundrise in September 2019. I have had a fantastic experience thus far. I really can’t complain about anything within the Fundrise program.
I invest $100/month into Fundrise, so my account grows slowly. I also own three physical homes. Thus, if I didn’t own physical real estate, I would invest in Fundrise more aggressively.
The main advantage of Fundrise is that it doesn’t trade on the stock market. Therefore, you aren’t competing with negative investor sentiments and emotions. As you can see, my trendline is always positive.
The main disadvantage of Fundrise is liquidity. This means that you can’t pull your money out within 1-5 days. It’ll probably take a month to get your holdings into your hands.
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This limitation is something to consider as you invest a large chunk of money into Fundrise. However, it is similar to investing in a home. Houses are illiquid because it takes time to sell, refinance, or TAP a home equity loan.
Time to make big assumptions. My Fundrise holdings are roughly 3.5% of my $220,000 portfolio; therefore, I want to make some assumptions off my latest earnings statement. Let’s see what would happen if I made Fundrise my primary source of income.
Here is my latest statement, and we can see the capital appreciation and dividends. I will do simple math to determine my future. I am not going to overthink this or use a compound interest calculator. I will multiply the numbers by 20, 50, and 100 to see what the future could hold potentially.
These results look great. I used simple math. The power of compounding would create even better gains. I achieve 6.3% appreciation and 4.6% dividend yield. These numbers look great.
An asset, not a liability. The most amazing part of Fundrise versus homeownership is your portfolio would be an asset, not a liability. “Rich Dad Poor Dad” explains that a home is a liability unless you make money from it, usually by house hacking.
Making $38,000/year in dividends should be a nice income stream for most people. But how would you get $800,000 into your Fundrise account?
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How to speed up your Fundrise investing? You will have to find a way to speed up your Fundrise investing. Remember, Fundrise doesn’t provide shelter, so you’ll need a place to live while you grow your holding.
Living below your means is probably the best way to grow your Fundrise account. In this instance, that may mean living in an apartment even when you can afford a single-family rental.
Another option would be to move back in with your parents until you reach $800,000 to $1 million in your Fundrise portfolio. It may sound crazy, but you can achieve that number in 5-7 years if you supplement your journey with passive income (21 Passive Income Ideas).
When you emerge from your parent’s house with a $1 million portfolio, you’ll have a potential $46,000/year in dividend income to go with your employment income. Plus, you could have books, videos, music, e*commerce, etc., as an additional income stream.
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Fundrise vs. down payment. Essentially, you would be investing in Fundrise versus saving for a down payment. Your Fundrise dividends would serve as supplemental income for when you purchase our home.
You can also leverage your Fundrise account to take out a loan for your house down payment. Also, remember, you can use the VA or FHA to lower your down payment requirements.
Conclusion. Fundrise has been good to me. Lucky for me, I already have three houses. I don’t know what the future brings, but it is not looking good for the average person buying a home.
We need to think differently about home buying. We also need to create passive income streams BEFORE we move into a property. If someone loses a job or has a medical emergency, we need to have the income to support this timeframe.
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It’ll be challenging to save for a down payment when home prices move 10% annually. Investing our money and building a dividend portfolio can help us increase our wealth, status, and position.
Only make a move when you have the leverage to do so. Showing the bank a $1 million Fundrise portfolio will allow you to call the shots (at least some of them). Think outside the box, read books, and you will be a winner in the end. Good Luck!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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