Originally Posted by
Oddball
Quick update. The place looks better after a couple of visits and more research. But there's a snag with getting a loan. Not so easy when you're not earning a steady W-2 income. Lenders don't care about the 4% rule and have their own formulas. Bottom line is I'd have to pay cash. It would be 20% of my egg, plus CGT on the liquidated shares. But without a mortgage, I could get by on a 2% drawdown, say 2.5% for some margin. 20% of total assets in real estate seems high to me, so at the moment I'm leaning toward the "wait a year" advice above. Or until I decide to go back to work.