u/zspyroteknik

29M 29F married couple in the Seattle area.

HHI ~280k (tech - formerly ~400k; one spouse lost their job and is struggling to find a new one)

Total liquid net worth ~2.7MM (around 1.3MM in retirement accounts)

Household FIRE number is ~5MM. Plan to have 2 kids (probably the first kid by at latest 35 - timeline somewhat flexible, but don't want to wait too long). The currently working spouse would like to retire ASAP (with a personal FIRE number of ~2MM). The other would be open to working to normal retirement age.

Mortgage on current home ~527,000 @ 2.65%. Home is valued ~900,000 on Zillow.

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We want to upsize to a larger home in a better school district and a safer, quieter community given we want to have children. Our current 2bd 2.5bath home wouldn't cut it for a family of 4. We're targeting something around the 1.5MM price range (at least a 3bd in a solid school district), but the number isn't set in stone. This would be our "forever" home (i.e. the final residential property we'd buy in Seattle, not including when we decide to retire to a lower cost of living area).

Our main disagreement is with respect to timing.

One of us wants to capitalize on the somewhat stagnating housing market to place a sizable (>50% or around ~1MM) down payment on a home within the next year out of consideration of current interest rates.

The other is concerned that the purchase would tie up too large a portion of our current liquid net worth into a relatively illiquid asset. Given that FIRE calculations are generally predicated on applying the 4% rule to liquid assets, a purchase like this feels like it would "set back" the progress toward our FIRE goal.

We *have* considered keeping our current home as a rental property, but not sure the income and the additional considerations that come with being a landlord offsets the opportunity cost of just living in our current home for a while longer and keeping money invested in the SP500.

Has anyone faced this consideration before? What % of net worth are people generally comfortable in keeping in real estate while still targeting FIRE? Grateful for any advice or insight.

29M 29F married couple in the Seattle area.

HHI ~280k (tech - formerly ~400k; one spouse lost their job and is struggling to find a new one)

Total liquid net worth ~2.7MM (around 1.3MM in retirement accounts)

Household FIRE number is ~5MM. Plan to have 2 kids (probably the first kid by at latest 35 - timeline somewhat flexible, but don't want to wait too long). The currently working spouse would like to retire ASAP (with a personal FIRE number of ~2MM). The other would be open to working to normal retirement age.

Mortgage on current home ~527,000 @ 2.65%. Home is valued ~900,000 on Zillow.

---

We want to upsize to a larger home in a better school district and a safer, quieter community given we want to have children. Our current 2bd 2.5bath home wouldn't cut it for a family of 4. We're targeting something around the 1.5MM price range (at least a 3bd in a solid school district), but the number isn't set in stone. This would be our "forever" home (i.e. the final residential property we'd buy in Seattle, not including when we decide to retire to a lower cost of living area).

Our main disagreement is with respect to timing.

One of us wants to capitalize on the somewhat stagnating housing market to place a sizable (>50% or around ~1MM) down payment on a home within the next year out of consideration of current interest rates.

The other is concerned that the purchase would tie up too large a portion of our current liquid net worth into a relatively illiquid asset. Given that FIRE calculations are generally predicated on applying the 4% rule to liquid assets, a purchase like this feels like it would "set back" the progress toward our FIRE goal.

We *have* considered keeping our current home as a rental property, but not sure the income and the additional considerations that come with being a landlord offsets the opportunity cost of just living in our current home for a while longer and keeping money invested in the SP500.

Has anyone faced this consideration before? What % of net worth are people generally comfortable in keeping in real estate while still targeting FIRE? Grateful for any advice or insight.