Woman looks to diversify nest egg out of real estate
As she watches the Florida real estate market soften around her, Susie Hurst is getting nervous.
The 59-year-old former teacher had thought that rental income from several properties she had accumulated over the years would fund her retirement.
But higher insurance costs (the result of hurricanes), taxes and upkeep expenses have turned her cash flow to negative of late. She recently took out a home equity line to cover the shortfall and is considering going back to work. She also is thinking about selling off some of her $1.5 million real estate empire, which consists of a four-unit apartment building, a duplex and a small home adjacent to her own Orlando residence.
The higher costs have reached the point that her net proceeds from the properties this year is projected to amount to just $25,000, while her personal expenses are almost $54,000.