I was talking to a friend this morning and the subject of owning rental homes came up. He said he sold his rental home as soon as the market value was high enough to sell without paying to get out. Still, he also said he could not believe how much money people were paying in rent now. His EQ for owning a rental property was very low. EQ is emotional intelligence, where the Q comes from I have no idea. He simply could not give up control of the home emotionally to someone else and every time and issue would occur it would emotionally tear him apart.
As an owner of a number of rental properties while I understand his point of view I do not understand why the long term income is not more important. Over this last year two of my homes have aged somewhat and one needed a new roof while the other needed a new dishwasher. I had to come up with the money, I also know that I have that money available because the homes have been reducing my income tax due every year.
Not getting into the accounting process suffice it to say that I put money back into the homes that would have otherwise gone to the government. I choose to believe that Uncle Sam paid for my roof and dishwasher, thanks.
So is 2018 a good time to buy a residential real estate investment. According to Inman News 2018 is going to be a booming economy see https://www.inman.com/2017/12/14/watch-out-your-uncles-drunken-holiday-antics-economy-booming/. Also in Bloomberg article Mohamed A. El-Erian says there is a synchronized global recovery. See article here: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-11/4-developments-to-watch-in-global-economy
The usatoday shows that 7 of the top 25 cities in the US for job growth over past year have been in Washington State. See article here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2017/12/11/25-cities-adding-and-losing-most-jobs-2017/934148001/ The new tax law will favor Washington State over other West Coast states because we do not have an income tax. We can expect even more job growth and more increase in population. Should you buy residential investment property, only if you have the right E.Q.