Can you share some advice on how to best invest 40-50K

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History repeating itself is one of the reasons that I have limited my exposure to gold and silver. I remember the 80s when gold and silver spiked as well. Like J Scott, I think you will see the precious metal bubble burst soon enough. There a number of good ways to invest 40-50K. IMO opinion now is a great time to look for real estate and Florida and several other states seem to be very good opportunities. You want to investigate the market, define your strategy and understand what you are investing in.

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Just because something is easy to understand doesn't make it a good investment. Anyone who doesn't believe that gold and silver are in a bubble right now is setting himself up for major disappointment when the bubble bursts. I would go into more detail, but I have a feeling that most people already agree with that sentiment, so I see no need to elaborate...

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If he plans on holding them as rentals and not flipping them how is that a good idea? It seems that the rates for HML are on the high side (over 10%). It seems HMLs come in handy when you need money quickly and plan on flipping or re-financing the property.

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I will chime in on this interesting topic because I am also in the same position. I have some extra cash around and I am extremely interested in a SFH that is at least 60-70% below ARV but location to me is more important in this market. I am looking for wholesalers in Florida, Las Vegas or Chatanooga Tenn for rental units in safe locations but with hopefully appreciation in 5 yrs. There is a diamond somewhere in these states, and I am willing to work to find it. This would be my first US real estate investment, and frankly I am finding you need to do ALOT of due diligence during these tough times and its totally overwhelming the number of places for sale, almost impossible using the internet only as my searching tool. Even after the dismall housing report today (S&P case shiller) and the predictions for the housing markets, if you can buy in the right location at the right price, you could do well in 5 years. lol as obvious as this sounds. Commodities are totally volatile and in a short time you could lose your shirt, so unless your heart can take it, stay away from those. You will hear investors/economists such as Martin Armstrong say gold will hit $5000 by 2015 and its the best hedge against the failing US dollar, and yes it may be true, but its also the most volatile. Personally unless you can buy physical gold bullions I wouldn't bother with gold/SLV ETF's due to higher fees and other hidden costs associated with these. If it wasn't for the currency risk, I would be throwing my money in Asia real estate or Russia if it was possible. Good luck regardless on your search. Let me know what you find. Peter

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Why would no one mention Tax Liens and Deeds? Those investments pay back annually and with research can pay back in a month if you find liens that have set unpaid almost the full year. So if you invest properly you could compound interest . The best states from my understanding are Texas, Illinois and I think Florida is a good one especially if you want to buy property for the past due taxes. You don't have to be a US citizen to do this.. It will take you a solid 2 weeks of research to understand it and plan to do due dilligence on any tax lien or deed you plan to invest in. You don't want a alley or walkway, you want real property so if the owner doesn't pay you get the property and sell it cheap and fast to make good money. Thats my opinion. Now on my end I want real estate and am in a similar situation having the money and wanting to invest it but I want the experience in buying and rehabbing. But in my area I can buy good saleable property and rehab it and be under 60% arv. Which I intend to sell at 80% ARV to move them quickly. Brian D Shurlock Homes LLC

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Andy / We studied the US RE market for 3-years, (lost a small bundle on the DOW in '08 along the way), and then jumped out in late '09. Markets are markets.....for every winner there is a counter-party. metals are the same way. We almost started our RE investing in Florida in May '07. Fortunate that we didn't act on those urges as we would have gone from the pan to the fire. It is a question of recognizing what an opportunity market looks like and then acting. I believe that the metals market has more down-side risk to it and the RE market has considerable upside in the coming years. Buying opportunities will abound in select markets for the next 2-4 years with recovery following in the next 4-years. This is just what I have perceived while building our portfolio in Florida. We bought our first Florida home just over a year ago and have 3 more under contract. Like anything else you do, educate yourself thoughly first. Include your other half, (if there is one), in whatever you do or think you may want to do. Talk to people who have done or are doing what you are thinking of doing. You could buy something in FL but without being thurough you may very well end up with something regretful. Here is my suggestion for you: Being from Canada as well, we run a successful Hard Money Lending shop in Ontario. Canadian usuary laws are much softer than in the US. You could double your $50k in 3-years. The housing deals will still be here, but you would be 3-years better educated and a whole lot better off financially. Please keep us updated on your adventures. Mike P. :D

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I'd put your cash into a high yield ETF until you determine where the best place for your money is - it's liquid, good yield, no hassle. Spending that cash on something illiquid as real estate can result in buyers remorse once you realize that's not where you want to be. Investing in precious metals is a bad idea at the moment as you'll be buying in towards the top of a recent run up - the gold/silver bubble will burst on June 30th (or thereabouts) when QE2 ends - you'd be better off buying dividend paying stocks in resource rich economies like Australia, Brazil, or your own home country, Canada. I personally use the preffered stock ETF (ticker: PFF) you get a monthly check and a nearly 7.5% yield and you do 0 leg work. Post your money there until you find a great deal that you understand and are comfortable with, you can then liquidate and have your cash back in a day or two. PFF also has a low beta, because it is comprised of preffered shares, meaning that it's value will not drop significantly when the market does. Furthermore, I feel comfortable with PFF even though it is heavily weighted in issues of financial firms because if they were too big to fail in '08 they certainly aren't going to let them fail now. Hard money lending is another option if you find a competent and experienced debtor.

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gold & silver

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With the market as depressed as it is why wouldn't you want to buy real estate for cash at a deep discount? The basics of buy and hold real estate investing are not that hard to learn, in addition to tremendous cash flows, one would be rightly positioned for equity plays if / when the market returns to pre bubble conditions. Investing in precious metals in this market vs real estate in this market? I would say real estate wins hands down but I do think that adding precious metals to ones portfolio is not a bad idea.

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What?! The gold bugs on TV aren't selling me their best product? I'm shocked! :D