This post was long due after I did Part 1 and 2 in April this year. Though the story of this guy was covered in first two parts, I wanted to do a follow up post highlighting some of the important points raised in comments of the post.
Readers like Krish, Bharat and many others made some noteworthy points, which I feel need to be shared with a larger audience and hence this post.
You can either read the complete story in detail in Parts 1 and 2;Or just go through the broad outlines below:
This person had a big home loan, was earning decently, but just sufficient to make ends meet (after paying his monthly loan EMIs), had very little savings and investments and more importantly, was frustrated with his job and financial situation.
Luckily, he inherited a plot of land which till a few months back, he did not know what to do with.
What he does afterwards, is what changes his life:
Step 1: Sold off the land plot for Rs 9 Crores (post tax).
Step 2: Closed his home loan of Rs 70 Lacs.
Step 3: Created an Emergency Fund of Rs 30 Lacs (which covered his family’s expenses for next 2 years).
Step 4: Put Rs 4 Crores in Fixed Deposits, which provide approximately Rs 1.75 Lacs every month in interests (post tax).
Step 5: Bought 7 flats for Rs 3 Crores
Step 6: Bought a small warehouse (godown) for Rs 1.1 Crore
Step 7: Put 5 (now 6) of these flats on rent for a total of Rs 1 Lac a month.
Step 8: Put Godown on rent of Rs 60,000 a month.
Step 9: Quit his day job
Note – Actually he quit his job before the godown went on rent.
To summarize, he used proceeds of selling his inheritance to create a monthly income stream of more than Rs 3 Lacs. His average monthly expenses are between Rs 50K to 60K.
Now this is the current situation. And we do not know what might happen in future.
But few readers raised concerns about this approach and shared some different approaches. I share their concerns and ideas below:
Point 1: Cashflow is great in terms of interests, rents etc., but over the years expenses also rise. Not only because of inflation, but also because of altogether new expenses like kid’s education, medical bills, renovations, etc.
Point 2: If investment in properties (flats) is made for capital appreciation, then one should understand that it is not that easy to sell off properties. Banks are generally skeptical about lending to buyers for older properties.
Point 3: Once again if investment in property is made for capital appreciation, it makes sense to buy in relatively undeveloped areas. Then wait for 3-5 years and sell them off. In this way, one can cash out on overall upgradation (read: development) of that area, and the increase in desirability quotient of that area. If one waits for more than 5-7 years, there’ll always be a problem of “Old Flat” perception.
Point 4: In rental properties, each time a tenant vacates, it requires big expenses in form of painting, cleaning, plumbing, unsolicited breakdown of utilities, etc to get the flat ready for next occupant. This eventually reduces the actual rental income coming from the property.
Point 5: Dependency on rental income often proves to be fickle and it does not even beat inflation. Since chances of real estate markets being in bubble currently are high, expectations of very high capital appreciation would be wrong.
Point 6: There is an increase in people seeking help / donations / loans when they realize that you are flush with funds and living off without working for anybody else.
Point 7: With so much money coming in every month, life style changes and expenses on luxuries like foreign trips, electronic gadgets tend to increase. These eventually reduce the surplus every month.
Point 8: Could have chosen not to close the home loan and continue getting tax benefits. The money could have been used to earn hefty interest.
Point 9: Plan of taking another loan (>2 Crores) and use the monthly surplus to pay EMIs can be a big risk as it greatly reduces the free cash available every month.
Point 10: Plan of starting a money lending business is a big no-no if one gives any weightage to peace of mind.
Point 11: All the proceeds from sale of property could have been put in debt funds (50% Growth, 50% Quarterly payout). After decent quarterly payout accumulation, the money could have been invested in Equity Mutual Funds and Residential plots in small towns as in long term, only MFs, Direct stocks and Land are game changing wealth creators.
Point 12: This person should not have quit his day job until his planned business had kick started. Any business started after inheritance is more of a time-pass and chances of it succeeding are pretty low.
These are few of the major points which came out of the discussion which took place in comments of the post. I personally do not subscribe to quite a few like not paying off loan (I love being debt free). But I also think that few of points like expenses related to properties are quite valid.
Overall, I think the approach taken has been quite prudent, driven by common sense and most importantly focused on generating cashflows. But finally, only time will tell whether its correct or not.