As my name indicates, I love the nomadic way. I am already itching to get overseas again. BUT I want a home base. I am currently teaching in Dallas and I have found a small brick home in a quiet neighborhood that is just beckoning me. It is priced at 60,000 very reasonable for Dallas. I am so tempted to buy it and get out of the apartment game.

My monthly apartment rent is more than my mortage payment would be.

BUT I would also love to take off for the middle east for another tour....or to Thailand or Africa or whereever! I teach bilingual kids in Dallas and there is great job security at the moment. I feel sure that I can always come home to a job. I am working on my masters degree and should finish in 2004.

I guess my concern is that I do want to be a nomad but I would also like to maintain a home base in the United States.

I am thinking of either leasing it to very specific teachers....Single or couples...when and if I decide to take off again. Perhaps even storing my earthly belongings in the garage or building a builing specifically for that purpose.

Am I on the right track here, or do I need to choose between a career here or life overseas....the later of which I am dearly missing.

Just a few questions for you to consider. How could that nice little house in Dallas be your home base if someone else is living in it? What are the property taxes like in Dallas? Who would handle the maintenance problems if you're off teaching on the other side of the world?

Hello Ben,
I guess the idea would be to have someone I really know well living there while I am not occupying it...l work with lots of single female elementary school teachers who are renting...It would seem that it could be a win win situation. I just need a minimal amount of space for storage.

Even with the taxes, I think it would pay off. I would hire someone to manage the place as far as maintaining it. There are lots of Mexican American craftsmen in the area whom I would trust with the job.
Thanks for the thought-provoking questions....I need to consider all of that stuff.

My husband and I have a house in Canada. When we are abroad, we rent it out and store our possessions in a detached garage. (There is plenty of street parking, so this is not a problem for the tenants.) When we are returning to Canada, we give the tenants about 6 months notice before our return (legally we only have to give 3 months notice in our city, but I prefer to give them more itme to find a new place.) So far it is working out very well for us. Getting the right tenants is key, though. We also use a property management company to help out with things like credit/reference checks, repairs, rent collection, etc. For this they take 10% of the rent, but I think that the place is renting for more than it would if I'd tried to do it alone.

Having been in real estate investments and rental properties for over 30 years now, let me share a few things with you.

1) Real estate is generally a great investment.

2) Renting to friends is foolish. To begin with, you are your tenants friend, so surely, as a friend, you won't mind if they skip a rent payment or two when the car breaks down, they need a new sound system or the dog eats their paycheck.

3) Get an experienced real estate agent who specializes in rental management to manage the property for you. Staying up until 2:00 a.m. in Riyadh, so that you can call the Roto Rooter guy in Dallas is no fun. It is also quite difficult to get prospective tenants to call Bangkock to inquire about your rental that has suddenly gone vacant. It is also very hard to inspect the newly vacant house to both see what it needs to make it rentable again and to determine how much, if any, of your previous tenant's security deposit should be refunded.

4) Crunch the numbers on building a storage room vs renting a storage facility. The result should provide an answer to the storage question. If you do build a storage building, consider what the future potential use of the structure might be. Sticking a few capped-off pipes and conduits through the foundation and into the walls, and framing to easily allow the future installation of windows can allow for the future conversion of the building from a very low value storage building to a rather high value guest apartment, party room, etc. The cost of adding these things during initial construction is negligible while a future use conversion can add a lot to the property value.

I own several properties in Arizona - all which I have bought since heading overseas about thirteen years ago. Don't attempt to handle the problems yourself. Hired property managers are professionals and know what they are doing - generally. Ask around. Property managers, like all employess may be a problem from time to time, but it is often worth working it out - rather than changing too quickly. I've had to change a couple times. COmpanies that do only or primarily property management are usually best. They will be the most highly skilled. Real estate companies often put their least experienced newest realtors in the prop man role. Also, I once had a realtor lie to me about the neighborhood around my condo going bad (so I should have him sell it right away!)- he knew I hadn't been back in town for a couple years. He didn't know my brother lived in the area. Changed prop man. But, also have a couple really professional great people doing the work for me now.

Build a shed in the back yard and keep your stuff there - or just rent a storage place. Try not to mix the two ideas. Also, a rental property should be one that you have NO emotional attachment to. Houses get beat up in the rental business. Not often, but often enough that you should know it will happen some time. Use the rent you earn from the rental to rent a place when you are in town.

Never trust anyone - fellow employee or even family member - to take care of these things for you. Hire a professional unless you want to lose a friend or sour a family relationship.

Wow! What solid great advice. Thanks everyone. I am doing it....I am buying the little house just to have something to mess with...and to beat the rent rap. I do know that I will have to leave again to live overseas. It is just in me. You have let me see the pros and cons and there are some really good suggestions in the posts...
Many Thanks!!!
Nomad Dan

In your case you are presently working stateside. So qualifying for a loan, assuming good. credit is not a problem. But what about a situation where someone has only been working overseas and has no employer reference. I have been filing my taxes as self-employed. That is all I would have in the way of proof of income.

Nomad Dan wrote:

Wow! What solid great advice. Thanks everyone.
I am doing it....I am buying the little house just to have something to mess with...and to beat the rent rap. I do know that I will have to leave again to live overseas. It is just in me. You have let me see the pros and cons and there are some really good suggestions in the posts...
Many Thanks!!!
Nomad Dan