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A 29-year-old woman thought buying two rental properties in Texas would set her on the path to financial independence. Instead, she’s watching $1,700 vanish every month.
In a post on the r/realestateinvesting subreddit, she shared her struggle: “I bought two houses in Texas. One about 2.5 years ago, and the second one about a year ago.” Her hope? That appreciation in Texas real estate would eventually outweigh any short-term losses. “My ‘strategy’ (if you can even call it that) has mostly been betting on future appreciation,” she admitted.
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But the math didn’t work out. After trying and abandoning Airbnb due to the hassle, she pivoted to long-term tenants. Even then, she wrote, “For the past year or so, I’ve been losing around $1,700/month combined on these properties.”
She says she can technically afford it on her $300,000 income, but the emotional toll has been severe. “I dread getting texts from tenants,” she said. “Like, even a simple maintenance request just ruins my day.”
Aside from the money she was losing, it was obvious she didn’t like being a landlord. She described the experience as emotionally draining: “Real estate just hasn’t been a good emotional fit for me.”
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Her ultimate goal was to be location-independent and travel. “I don’t want to be responsible for $4,000 in mortgage payments if someone moves out unexpectedly,” she said. One of her homes rents for $3,000, but the mortgage alone is $4,000.
Many commenters were straightforward: this wasn’t investing, it was gambling. “Never ever rely on future appreciation for a rental property. If it’s not covering its own costs, then it has to go,” one person wrote. Another added, “Looks/seems like you are not built to be a landlord, sell them, learn the lesson and build wealth another way.”
She agreed. “Learned it the hard way. You are super duper right,” she replied.
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Commenters also criticized the lack of due diligence. “People who aren’t good at numbers should not invest in real estate because it’s entirely a numbers game. I can tell you’re not good at numbers because you haven’t posted your numbers,” one said. OP acknowledged this, adding, “I didn’t do my numbers right and I am paying for it. It is super sad but a very good lesson.”
Now she’s gathering her figures and planning to share them for advice, but it seems likely she will sell.
While some suggested sticking it out or hiring a property manager, the dominant opinion was to cut her losses and move on.
“This was a wild gamble and you don’t know the rules to the game,” one person concluded.
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This article She Thought Real Estate Would Be A Smart Investment. Instead, 2 Texas Houses Are Costing Her $1,700 A Month—’It Is Super Sad’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com