Ken and I have made the decision to not purchase a third investment property this year. It is disappointing because it definitely does not align with our goal of 10 properties in 5 years. However, we hope to set ourselves up for more success in 2026.

Ken mentioned in the last post how we would likely be able to afford the next house toward the end of August. We are still on track for that. However, by the time the property would be ready to rent, it would likely be late November or December. This is what happened to our second home last year and it took two months before we had tenants. 

So rather than eating the costs of three months without income (the first month goes to the property management company), we are going to wait until January for our next home. Waiting might even allow us to buy a house at a slightly higher price point, which comes with its own benefits (a topic for another time). 

In the meantime, we are refocusing our efforts to make this investment strategy a success. We have tweaked our tax strategies after last year’s disappointing return. I have gone deep down the money management/investment rabbit hole and am listening to podcasts nonstop. I also am making Ken watch “How to Get Rich” on Netflix. The idea behind this bingeing is to get the most exposure to the lifestyle we want and the strategies that will get us there. 

All of the podcasts, books (did I mention the books?), and the Netflix show have the same basic ideas which leads us to our biggest change this year: budgeting. We have dabbled in this before, creating spreadsheets, tracking expenses and using Mint (RIP). We are going to try to have a good handle of our expenses and hopefully have even more to invest going forward. 

Even though this year is not quite what we wanted, we are going to take our time to level up in our strategies and make better investments going forward.