All Forum Posts by: Dan K.

in 2009 I told pp you would see "inflation in the things you need, deflation in the things you own".  We are nearing the end of that trend.  I believe it is inflation in darn near everything but wages due to wage arbitrage across borders.

However 'real goods' have real costs that include real expertise to get out of the ground, and one cannot wage arbitrage a nickel mine to India.

Now we have "inflation in the wages of the skillful, and deflation in the wages of the unskilled but willful ".  That is a recipient for real social discord at some time but not soon.

Short of a debt jubilee, I expect little to change beyond an increase in class warfare rhetoric.  Best to invest where the skilled are needed and will be in demand for a long time to come.

what happens when you are just downright not photogenic?  You should see my last drivers license photo -- I look like I'm 70 yrs old.  I hate photos of me!

@Patrick Britton 

I am not averse to my own back yard at all.  Part of my philosophy is to invest where the energy is (Houston) because I see energy as the master commodity.

Another part is to have managed rentals if possible so I can still be marginally involved, but not fully involved.

When I look at the smaller towns of WA, I usually ask myself "what happens there in a crisis?" Like 2009-11.  What supports the town?  Who has the jobs and will they still be there?

I distinctly recall empty freeways in Bellevue during rush hour after the last crash.  I marveled at it and thought of how many must have been hit.  Now, things seem booming around here again, yet I can't but help believe that the Fed has dodged a debt bullet by creating ever more debt yet again. Invariably the Fed creates the crisis, and then shifts the blame.  Easy money created the lady two, why should it not create the next?

In my own case, not only can I finance, I can literally bail my own rear out if necessary via other investments.

I'll drop you a PM on the 4 plex units anyway as they may still be worth my taking a look and they are just up the road.

 Ask yourself what this will mean:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-09-03/god-crude...

And you'll know why I am looking first in Houston.

I hold farmland in Uruguay.  Originally I looked into Brasil but found it way too expensive and complicated to do.  You have to register money on the way in, or possibly never get it out.  Employment laws are very complex as well, and in the end you become 100% dependent on your operator -- if it goes sideways at any time you're totally screwed.

If you have 'serious' money (3-4mil plus) to invest I can hook you up with a real experienced US guy running 25k+ hectares (about 60k acres) of soybeans in Brasil.  He'll do you right, but entry is expensive.

If you want to start smaller in Uruguay with land you own in a country that is far less complex, and a manager who is small enough to look out for you let me know.  I have had good success there, though current crop prices say the coming year will be quite lean.

hi all!

I'm in my mid-50's and semi-retired.  Have been for a few years now.  My 'hobby' (among several) is economics, and my personal view is the only way out of our debt mess in the future is going to be through a lot of inflation.  You don't need "hyperinflation" and we won't see that, but eventually we will see a lot of inflation.  My best guess is a repeat of "that 70's show".

In any case, at present I am "asset rich, and income poor", and thus looking at becoming a buy-and-hold landlord.  I live in the Seattle region, which is just too darn expensive for such an enterprise, so I am mostly considering Houston at present.  I understand I can still buy managed rentals there that will return a profit.

My goal (unless someone redirects me on this forum sometime soon), is to pick up 9 rentals in the next month and hit my 10 home max with Fannie mortgages.  Eventually I would like to get to 40-50 units.  I'll finance the first 9, then roll them up into non-Fannie financing unless I find another lender, and then rinse and repeat.

I am not blind to the problems and potential pitfalls of all this, having friends who have invested in rentals in the past and are presently landlords with multiple units.

My ideal world would be a 'perfect partner' looking to match my estimated $500k initial outlay so we could go bigger, but I have yet to do that homework in between moving my primary residence.  At least that will be over in the next few days.

What else about me?  Married, 2 teens, dog lover!  Prior experience includes running a multi-million revenue per year service business.  Good understanding of accounting, no fears of real estate finance, and well versed in various home rehab as I have basically 'done it all' in my own homes over time.  And I suck as a tile setter.

D

Ps.  Nothing about this post should be considered either an ad or promo or solicitation.  It's just introducing me and where I am going.  Would love feedback, especially if you are invested in Houston.