Inheritances - did you get one or will you get one?

[amarowsky]

Lost my mom in 2014, she was only 51 (pancreatic cancer).

My mom left my brother and I about $80k for each of us (100k life insurance, and about 60k Roth split to both of us) plus ownership of her 1/2 paid off house (worth about 210k).

So bro and I each wound up with about 80k, 50k of debt, on a 100k asset owned 50% Each.

Mom never earned a high living, but she was a better than average saver, and cleverly frugal. Miss her every day, and (i thought about it) and would gladly give it back for a week to catch up with her and show her how our lives have grown.

I severely doubt anyone in my dad's family will have anything to pass on to anyone. But my Grandparents (mom's side) we may see some inheritance. They are in their early 80's, but they're feisty. And basically my Other parents, so I Hope they get the luxury of spending most of their money throughout their LONG lives. (i'd much rather enjoy their company, and help pay their way, rather than be cut short on time with them.... + have some higher digits in my retirement....).

I remember hearing recently, that (generally speaking) most people spend 85% of the time They'll EVER spend with their parents by Age 18. Thankfully (up until this covid) my grandparents had a weekly standing dinner at their house. And we were probably good for seeing them 40/52 weeks per year. (not including our holidays). Don't take that time for granted.... I miss my mom every day. And it has fueled my gratitude that I still have her parents.

When I inherited the money from my mom, I was about 28. I believe at the time the I used like 10k of the $50k to pay for wifes wedding ring, part of wedding, and maybe another 5k to finish up my school tuition. But at the time I think I already had about $25k saved up in my taxable account, so I was fortunate enough to just throw most of this on top of the pile. The big change, was this kickstarted my interest in renting! Since 2016, I have bought1 more rental. And love the passive income (it's like the lowest barrier to entry, small business, almost anyone driven enough, can establish).

[Scallywag]

Lost my mom in 2014, she was only 51 (pancreatic cancer).

My mom left my brother and I about $80k for each of us (100k life insurance, and about 60k Roth split to both of us) plus ownership of her 1/2 paid off house (worth about 210k).

So bro and I each wound up with about 80k, 50k of debt, on a 100k asset owned 50% Each.

Mom never earned a high living, but she was a better than average saver, and cleverly frugal. Miss her every day, and (i thought about it) and would gladly give it back for a week to catch up with her and show her how our lives have grown.

I severely doubt anyone in my dad's family will have anything to pass on to anyone. But my Grandparents (mom's side) we may see some inheritance. They are in their early 80's, but they're feisty. And basically my Other parents, so I Hope they get the luxury of spending most of their money throughout their LONG lives. (i'd much rather enjoy their company, and help pay their way, rather than be cut short on time with them.... + have some higher digits in my retirement....).

I remember hearing recently, that (generally speaking) most people spend 85% of the time They'll EVER spend with their parents by Age 18. Thankfully (up until this covid) my grandparents had a weekly standing dinner at their house. And we were probably good for seeing them 40/52 weeks per year. (not including our holidays). Don't take that time for granted.... I miss my mom every day. And it has fueled my gratitude that I still have her parents.

When I inherited the money from my mom, I was about 28. I believe at the time the I used like 10k of the $50k to pay for wifes wedding ring, part of wedding, and maybe another 5k to finish up my school tuition. But at the time I think I already had about $25k saved up in my taxable account, so I was fortunate enough to just throw most of this on top of the pile. The big change, was this kickstarted my interest in renting! Since 2016, I have bought1 more rental. And love the passive income (it's like the lowest barrier to entry, small business, almost anyone driven enough, can establish).

I'm so sorry for the loss of your mother. Glad you hsve her parents around to soften that blow a bit.

Being a landlord is no joke even with property managers doing most of the work for you. I am a sucker for sob stories as well so would not have made a good businessperson (and renting is a business)! Plus with a child with special needs, I simply don't have the wherewithal to deal with tenants. And i know from my parents' experience that no matter how well you screen them, some bad apples will still manage to end up renting from you.

So, I would much rather invest in REITS to indirectly own real estate rather than have to deal with tenants. How has your LL-ing experience been so far?

I have also been interested in farm lands and farming but don't know how to get started (no farmers in the family to guide me, either).

[amarowsky]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your mother. Glad you hsve her parents around to soften that blow a bit.

Being a landlord is no joke even with property managers doing most of the work for you. I am a sucker for sob stories as well so would not have made a good businessperson (and renting is a business)! Plus with a child with special needs, I simply don't have the wherewithal to deal with tenants. And i know from my parents' experience that no matter how well you screen them, some bad apples will still manage to end up renting from you.

So, I would much rather invest in REITS to indirectly own real estate rather than have to deal with tenants. How has your LL-ing experience been so far?

I have also been interested in farm lands and farming but don't know how to get started (no farmers in the family to guide me, either).

To be honest, i feel the same way. I'm way to emotional to deal with the tenants directly. I work with (2) partners in one of the properties. They're there to supplement my weaknesses. That being one of them. But going forward I want to get more into physical ownership of properties. While I due also hold a few REIT's. It's still an equity. I think the physical ownership of something [outside of equities market] does have some pros/cons. One that can be considered both, is "active ownership" instead of passive shareholder ownership. I think the risk, and extra calories required, are worth the reward though!

You'd be surprised. You get the right team and/or property management around you... And even you could be a successful real estate investor! Honestly, some of the property doesn't even have to be rented in some cases. If you're a higher earner, the tax write offs + the increase in land price (through inflation and appreciation) can outweigh the cost in somes cases. Mainly land, but I'm getting more and more into hunting, harvesting the land (tapping trees, harvesting some craft wood, mushroom hunting, etc...), or even leasing for farm/hunting land to others are, are all good uses. And right now some land can be found under $1,000 per acre. This has gotten me even more interested. Even as just a really useful hedge against inflation (land almost always has some value).

I like putting a good chunk of my investing eggs in baskets outside of the stock market. Hard for me to find a lower entry barrier basket, other than real estate. Some other durable assets are nice (big useful tools, appliances, or vehicles) but I don't know enough about a lot of them. I kinda want to look into buying some 2nd hand manufacturing equipment, and sitting on it to see if someone needs it, or I can put it to some value producing uses. <----- [trying to get clever, and more independent @ creating value in this world].

[Drake3287]

Can I ask how is it life changing?

Simple. Most of my siblings hold lower paying service related jobs with little or no pension plus no real savings as far as I know. This "extra" $150,000 is a windfall for people like them. Gives them the ability to purchase things that never seemed possible. Unfortunately the problem is they'll spend this money in no time and will be back to being broke again. Lot's of people have the same problem, they can't seem to save money for the future.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Simple. Most of my siblings hold lower paying service related jobs with little or no pension plus no real savings as far as I know. This "extra" $150,000 is a windfall for people like them. Gives them the ability to purchase things that never seemed possible. Unfortunately the problem is they'll spend this money in no time and will be back to being broke again. Lot's of people have the same problem, they can't seem to save money for the future.

Do you think most people inherit at least 6 figures?

[Drake3287]

Do you think most people inherit at least 6 figures?

Absolutely not, even more reason for people to be careful when getting a windfall like that. Not unlike the stories we hear about people winning the lottery one day and being broke a few years later.

[disneysteve]

Do you think most people inherit at least 6 figures?

I did a little searching on this topic and the answers are all over the place depending on the source. One article said that the median inheritance is about 55K. Another said that the average inheritance is $295,000.

One thing to keep in mind, according to the 55K article, is that the average age of recipients has been rising and is now about 51. More than a quarter of recipients are 61 or older. That makes sense as people live longer.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I did a little searching on this topic and the answers are all over the place depending on the source. One article said that the median inheritance is about 55K. Another said that the average inheritance is $295,000.

One thing to keep in mind, according to the 55K article, is that the average age of recipients has been rising and is now about 51. More than a quarter of recipients are 61 or older. That makes sense as people live longer.

I wonder if that's cash though versus inheriting a paid for home? I mean a home if it's average is $275k. That's a nice chunk of change not counting any little cash lying around.

[bjl584]

I wonder if that's cash though versus inheriting a paid for home? I mean a home if it's average is $275k. That's a nice chunk of change not counting any little cash lying around.

Could be.
I'd like to read the article.
It might answer some of those questions.

When my grandfather passed the siblings inherited his home, his cash savings, and all the "stuff" he had accumulated.
The house, and the car were sold, so that was easy enough to put a number to.
Same deal with the cash he had.
Everything else got a little fuzzy.
Some went to friends and family, and some was sold.
I don't know what the final number was.
Everything was split 3 ways by the way

[disneysteve]

I wonder if that's cash though versus inheriting a paid for home? I mean a home if it's average is $275k. That's a nice chunk of change not counting any little cash lying around.

I'm sure the nature of inheritances varies a lot. If your family were farmers, your inheritance might be land, barns, tractors, and livestock. If your parents were collectors, you might get thimbles, teapots, art, antique cars, or pocket watches. If they were frugal savers, you might get stocks and bonds. If they were house-rich, you might get a big house and not much else.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm sure the nature of inheritances varies a lot. If your family were farmers, your inheritance might be land, barns, tractors, and livestock. If your parents were collectors, you might get thimbles, teapots, art, antique cars, or pocket watches. If they were frugal savers, you might get stocks and bonds. If they were house-rich, you might get a big house and not much else.

This. I guess people do inherit more than they were expecting when they get a paid for home to sell.