Explore Morgan's story.*

See how Schwab Wealth Advisory™ could potentially help investors like Morgan turn real estate investing into a flexible part of their retirement strategy—without sacrificing long-term stability.

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About Morgan

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Meet Morgan,* a recently retired entrepreneur in her early 60s with two priorities: keeping her portfolio on track and building additional income through real estate. After selling her business, she began managing property flips to support her lifestyle without taking on another full-time venture.

She came to Schwab Wealth Advisory with a few key questions in mind:

  • How should I manage my investment portfolio alongside my real estate work
  • How can I fund real estate flips and still cover living expenses while properties are being renovated or sold?
  • How do the tax and liability implications of my real estate activity impact my overall financial picture?
  • Can I access funds without spending the principal from selling my business?

To help bring clarity and confidence to her planning, we worked closely with Morgan to understand her full financial picture, then brought in the right Schwab specialists to explore options that matched her goals.

*These scenarios are for illustrative purposes only, are not the experience of any specific clients, and are no guarantee of future performance or success.

NOTE: Certain services may be provided by affiliated professionals and third-party firms. Schwab Wealth Advisory does not provide specific individualized legal or tax advice. Please consult a qualified legal or tax advisor where such advice is necessary or appropriate.

Incorporating real estate

Morgan* was looking for a way to stay engaged in retirement without diving into another full-time business venture. She had started funding real estate flips and wanted to understand how to support those projects—and her lifestyle—without disrupting her long-term financial plan or triggering avoidable taxes.

How Schwab Wealth Advisory helped

We worked with Morgan to explore strategies that could support her real estate investments while maintaining flexibility and tax efficiency.

  • A bridge loan was modeled to provide short-term liquidity without requiring Morgan to sell long-term investments, giving her more flexibility for project costs until a project sold.
  • We educated her on how an LLC could protect her personal assets from potential liability incurred from her real estate projects and recommended working with her outside attorney and/or CPA to finalize those details.
  • We connected her with one of our Tax, Trust, and Estate Specialists to help evaluate how real estate investments might impact her overall tax picture and long-term plan.
  • We ensured her broader financial plan could support both near-term project costs and long-term growth, with flexibility to handle unexpected expenses.

*These scenarios are for illustrative purposes only, are not the experience of any specific clients, and are no guarantee of future performance or success.

Schwab Wealth Advisory does not provide specific individualized legal or tax advice. Please consult a qualified legal or tax advisor where such advice is necessary or appropriate.

Portfolio oversight

Although Morgan* was actively funding real estate projects, she didn't want to manage every detail of her traditional investment accounts. She was looking for a simpler, hands-off approach that could support her lifestyle without constant involvement.

How Schwab Wealth Advisory helped

We started by helping Morgan understand how her traditional investment accounts and real estate ventures could work together. From there, we streamlined her portfolio so it could support her broader plan—without demanding her daily attention.

  • Her investments were transitioned to a professionally managed portfolio through Schwab Wealth Advisory.  
  • We worked closely with her to understand how comfortable she was with the potential volatility her investments could incur.
  • We implemented a tax-loss harvesting strategy with a portion of her taxable investments to help offset capital gains from her real estate transactions, reducing her tax liability.

These steps gave Morgan peace of mind that her portfolio was being managed in line with her plan and risk tolerance, freeing her to focus on projects that energize her.

*These scenarios are for illustrative purposes only, are not the experience of any specific clients, and are no guarantee of future performance or success.

Before executing any tax strategies ensure you understand the technicalities and certain risks including unintended tax implications.

Contact your Schwab Financial Consultant or connect with us to learn more.

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Long-term planning

Morgan* had no immediate plans to stop investing and wanted confidence that her long-term goals were still on track. She wanted to make sure her real estate activity fit within a bigger picture—without introducing unnecessary risk to her future.

How Schwab Wealth Advisory helped

We helped Morgan evaluate how her investing decisions—including real estate—fit into her broader financial goals over time.

  • We modeled scenarios to show how continuing to invest in real estate could affect her ability to fund retirement and potential care needs.
  • A Schwab Tax, Trust, and Estate Specialist was brought in to identify tax-efficient strategies and explore how her real estate holdings could impact her estate and income tax planning.
  • Her portfolio and spending strategy were reviewed annually to help ensure she could continue investing at a comfortable pace while maintaining the flexibility to adjust if needed.

Morgan ended up with a long-term view and a team she can turn to if her plans evolve.

*These scenarios are for illustrative purposes only, are not the experience of any specific clients, and are no guarantee of future performance or success.

Employees of Schwab Wealth Advisory, Inc. are not estate planning attorneys and cannot offer tax or legal advice, or create and prepare legal documents associated with such plans. Where such advice is necessary or appropriate, please consult a qualified legal or tax advisor.

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