I hate to admit it, but I am M24. My family has established a trust, and I will receive between $45,000 and $60,000 annually for the remainder of my life. I’m a law student now, and in order to gain an edge on my personal investments, I’ve been considering becoming a real estate developer and lawyer. For the next ten years, I intend to work and invest all of my earnings in the stock market.
Why do you hesitate to acknowledge it? You are fortunate to have been born to the family you have. Embrace that! There’s no need to appease those who can’t find joy in others’ success.
Definitely consider real estate. Historically, it has outperformed the S&P 500 by about 3% to 4% annually (refer to the NAREIT study data from 1974-2021). Additionally, many commercial and residential real estate investments can be effectively tax-free due to depreciation and the 1031 exchange process.
More importantly, if you work 40 hours a week as an attorney and document an additional 40.1 hours a week in real estate activities (like managing, investing, or researching), you can qualify as a real estate professional. This designation allows you to offset your passive income from real estate against your active income as an attorney, potentially doubling your lifetime income stream.
If you’re under 50 and not yet ready to invest in real estate, consider investing in QQQM, which has returned about 20% annually since 2009, or VOO, which has averaged 10.1% since 1965.
A little too soon. The developer requires money and the capacity to borrow it. The cost of a townhome here is 200K, so you still need a sizable down payment to accomplish that. Since you don’t have a full-time employment, you are unaware of your 401(k) possibilities and income. I am surrounded by esquires in California. Five percent of the agents and some of the brokers in a typical city brokerage hold a JD. As real estate brokers, a few flip houses and attempt to sell. Therefore, it is up to you to decide how 45–60K should be allocated.
You have been blessed with the ability to live comfortably while working for a far smaller salary. Take advantage of this chance to practice law in an area that pays less but has greater social advantages. Instead of working for real estate developers, you could utilize your legal degree to advocate for the poor.