Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Blaubart, post: 1486541, member: 37498&quot;]When you bring real estate into the picture, it further complicates things.&nbsp; Real estate, especially on a small scale like one rental property, can be financed 100% through a very low interest bank loan.&nbsp; (Buy a house, live in it for a couple of years, then buy another house)&nbsp; So let&#039;s say you buy a house for $200,000 and rent it out for $2,000 a month.&nbsp; At current rates, the rent would more than cover the mortgage payments.&nbsp; So, assuming property values at least keep up with inflation, you&#039;re earning a 3% return on the banks $200,000.&nbsp; Pretty good!&nbsp; But, if property values drop, you could be upside down in the mortgage.&nbsp; At that point, even though you have little or no money invested in the property, you are still liable for more than the house is worth.&nbsp; What kind of person are you?&nbsp; Would you keep it and ride it out?&nbsp; Would you sell it and take a loss?&nbsp; Would you walk away and let the bank worry about it?</p><p><br /></p><p>If you have the stomach for it, real estate can be very lucrative.&nbsp; However, it requires more of an investment in time and effort, and has more liability than most other types of investments.&nbsp; (Liability as in getting sued by your tenants for their kid sticking a fork into an outlet or whatever...)</p><p><br /></p><p>Like rzage, I believe the best bet is everything in moderation.&nbsp; Unless you are like Warren Buffet and managing your investments is all you do...</p><p><br /></p><p>If someone walked up to me with said briefcase, I&#039;d probably pick one at random and rearrange the rest of my investments to maintain some semblance of diversification.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in