XO Investments

[Christians4LessGvt]

wow
we just discussed Gold/Silver
and the freaking market collapses
i sold yesterday AM
didn't get killed
but wish i would of sold a week ago
it will be interesting to watch
because i still think there are huge problems in traditional stock market investments
so if people bail on commodities
where the hell do they go? housing? LOL, investment banks? LOL,
i dont know
except I am primarily on the sidelines .....watching

[fatman]

When the housing market began to slow down, I began to buy a lot of timber/lumber stock, Weyerhauser, Pope & Talbot, Sierra Pacific, Plum Creek, etc.  It's not worth much now, but the prices are very low and I figure that they'll rise again when the economy is back on course.  I don't figure this a bad investment, considering the buy in price vs. what it'll be 20 years from now.

[Christians4LessGvt]

"considering the buy in price vs. what it'll be 20 years from now"

fatman if you're gonna hold it 20 years I agree
but in my mind the housing boom is dead
of course i am just talking
i am lost right now about the market
except i do know more bad news is coming

[fatman]

Almost all of the stock I buy is long term investment stock.  I have at least 25 years before I even think about retirement (I'll be 55 then).  Housing is still growing in this region, albeit slowly.  There is a huge glut of lumber on the market depressing the prices, but eventually that'll all go back up, and I'll feel smart for buying in so low.

[Christians4LessGvt]

fatman if you are serious
holding stock 25 years
then yeah you should do great
do you know much about the pros/cons of buying rental property?
I am so sick of the stock market ups & downs i wonder if rent houses may be the way to go?

[Xavier_Onassis]

I always try to stay fully invested in mutual funds, because something like 2/3rds of the increase in the stock markets takes place in the 20 best days of the year, and if you are not invested, you are diddled. I don't think I have owned any standard mutual fund for more than 3 years tops, but I hold everything for a minimum of 90 days.. I have invested in a couple of funds, FUNDX and HOTFX, which are actively managed and usually outperform most of the market.

The new thing is Exchange Traded Funds, ETF's, which are bought and sold like stocks. EBB and EWC seem to be good choices at the moment.

Others that have been doing pretty well these days are HIINX, FAIRX, PRNEX and PRLAX. My Charles Schwab advisor said I should not hold RYBIX because Morningstar only gave it two stars, but it has done quite well. I can't eat or spend stars. FEMKX, DREGX and UMEMX have been in my portfolio for quite a while, and I see no reason to change them.

Buying at the bottom and selling at the top is basically an unattainable goal for mutual funds. You can buy at near the bottom and sell somewhere near the top, though and that isn't bad.

As they say, you can make money as a bull or a bear, but if you are hog, you will be slaughtered.

[Xavier_Onassis]

do you know much about the pros/cons of buying rental property?
I am so sick of the stock market ups & downs i wonder if rent houses may be the way to go?

====================================================
There are two kinds of renters. One kind pays the rent and rarely moves, the other kind gets thrown ou7t for non payment or generally being a nuisance. At any given moment, there are a lot more of the latter sort looking to rent your house. It can take months to get a deadbeat out, and it can really cost a lot of money to get them evicted.

I have been a landload, and it basically sucks. I have yet to have a mutual fund call me at 1:00 AM to unclog a toilet. Tenants will generally be demanding and unpleasant no matter how you treat them. When a person lives in a place, he tends to think of it as his own, and when he sees you coming for the rent, he is reminded that this is not so, and he gets pissed. I bet there are renters who actually mail you a check on time every month, but I have never met one, and I bet you won't, either.  I do not have to hire a realtor to buy or sell mutual funds, or depend on low mortgage rates to sell a property.

I mess only with ETF's and no load funds and avoid all commissions, other than the $7.00 fee scottrade charges for ETF's and very rarely, a particularly good no ;load fund that isn't on the TRPrice, Fidelity, Scottrade or Schwab lists.

If you want to be a successful investor, subscribe to Hulbert's Financial Digest and read it for a year. It is a review of the best newsletters, and a good one. Then decide what sort of risk you wish to take, and subscribe to the best newsletter i that field of investment. Always follow the advice, and buy and sell when the newsletter tells you to. Use a good discount broker (I like Scottrade), and do your trades on line.

Any advice you get from a non professional, including me, is not likely to be worth more than you paid for it. There are professionals who write newsletters, and the best ones will rarely steer you wrong. You can trust Hulbert to tell you what is hot and what is not, and he is worth many times what he charges. The same is true of the best newsletter companies he recommends. You will ask "Why should I pay $200 a year for a monthly newsletter?" The answer it "because it will make you $5000, dummy." Thye cost is deductible, by the way.


Never buy or sell on some tip unless you want to get screwed.

[Christians4LessGvt]

thanks XO
the two funds i sold yesterday GLD & SLV are both ETF's
i really like the concept behind an ETF
i wont stay on the sidelines
but i am taking a breather
i am still up and just that seems to be a miracle

oh by the way Fatman
you probably already know this
but "Dollar Cost Averaging" is a great way to build an investment portfolio especially at your age

[Christians4LessGvt]

XO the only thing that I like about rental property is you make money two ways
you have the $1000 a month coming from rent
plus in normal times housing tends to always go up in value
so you make the rent, plus the asset is growing in value

but I agree the 2AM calls would be a major pain
and the deadbeats too

[Xavier_Onassis]

Sure, make money two ways. That is if they actually pay the rent.

When houses are overpriced, you aren't going to have a buyer. The same is true when mortgage loans hit over 10%. High taxes are another problem.

You can only depreciate the house for 20 years, then you need to sell and buy another or the tax laws are against you.

Buy a real book on the subject, not some damn thing sold on 3 AM infomercials. People do make money on real estate, but I have been there, done that and never again, thank you very much.

Flippers make the most during those very short periods when inflation has not yet caught up with real estate prices, but flippers are vile assholes who only serve to keep deserving people from buying affordable homes, and I would rather be reincarnated as a hyena, a weasel or a buzzard.

[kimba1]

you need a clear head for rental property
a very dear friend of mine bought a house to rent to section 9 folks(I might of got the term wrong)
thinking since the money is coming from the government it`s easy money.
in 6 months she had get rid of those folks.
she simply had no idea how difficult it is.
I`m a landlord and I would never by choice rent to section 9 Or relatives
but I learned alot of people don`t know this.

[Xavier_Onassis]

I have heard of section 8, but never section 9.

This is a deal where the govt. pays a portion of the rent, according to income, and the tenant pays the rest.

I know my limitations, and I would never rent houses for income.

If you rent to relatives or friends, or loan money to them, the odds are you will get screwed and hated at the same time.

[Amianthus]

Section 8.

Problem with Section 8 housing is that once you accept someone on Section 8, you're forever obligated to accept anyone on Section 8 in the future. Plus, you only get to charge the rent the government says you can charge.

[kimba1]

If you rent to relatives or friends, or loan money to them, the odds are you will get screwed and hated at the same time.


xo
I`m not kidding ,that`s absolute gospel
every single friend I know who rent or loan to family has a not so nice story
in fact every single loan that`s still pending is a relative .
all my friends paid me back in a timely manner.
quite afew relative think I`m cheap for not lending more than $50 to anybody.
I always answer you`re lucky to get the $50

p.s. section 8 is correct
I forgot the number
and my friend had to dump the house for a loss ,because she didn`t want to rent anymore.
it`s that bad of a experience.

[Plane]

  I am greatly invested in land and debt, a period of high inflation would be very good for me.

  If you are near a military base you might qualify for the base to list your house as availible to servicemen, the demands are not too bad and the rent is pretty much garunteed , if the property is damaged or the rent isn't paid the serviceman is going to have to explain the reason for this to his first shirt.

   But don't try to cheat the serviceman either , the same system can get you blackballed .