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Don't worry Tpm, I will be in French Polynesia for the next 3 months. Leaving Tuesday.

BP is a GREAT website except that too many newbies get beat around the ears by a few who think they know it all. It scares them away.

There are some TERRIFIC contributors to this site--newbies just need to cut through and find the good ones.

Good Night and Good Luck--I'm goin diving for 3 months and won't see any responses

Whoa whoa whoa--some of you are just so happy to tell newbies that their lives are over and you enjoy telling them how badly they have screwed themselves, when they try to get help on this forum. Wheatie is probably your brightest investor onboard and he doesn't do that. His responses are comprehensive and non-judgmental--********** and Ryan are great too.

Investing in Any market is about risk management. I KNOW the companies that I invest in and don't put too much in anyone place. I have far exceeded (with homework) the real estate gains, I see on this website. Of couse, you have to realize that many stock markets--ARE real estate related.

While reading your posts for over a year, my mouth has sat agape to see how much money was invested and how hard some of you have worked to get a measly $100 a month!!! Hey boys and girls (as All Cash calls you) I have been in the stock market for over 40 years!! I can do better on low-risk investments, than poor Mike OH does and I don't have to shoo off crack dealers and clean filthy toilets. Go ahead and kick me off the forum Josh, but I have seen MUCH worse said by some of your regulars. The proof is in my pudding. I am retired and have taken my money out of the market for the most part. So I know what I have done WORKS!! And I could continue to do so.

At the same time, it is hard for me to say more. I see the flooding and the high foreclosure rate in Ohio. With all sincerity, I wish you investors up there the best. It's going to be a tough road.

Get a chill pill--a lot of you guys can't take what you often dish out!

Don't get me wrong here--I have had HUGE gains from real estate investments (yet I am not a seasoned Investor). This post has made me very happy that I have been so heavy in stocks. Poor MikeOh's $100 a month for so many crappy tenants--I could do better than that anywhere in the market. But that is my niche.

Good luck to you all. If you do you home work in the stockmarket you can easily make more than the best players on this forum. And NO I did not buy into Enron--I saw that head on crash coming!

Robert12

You really need to know what your personal interests are and where you want to reside first. You have to consider if you plan to eventually sell the home or if you plan to retire in it. If you find the most optimum advantages as far as tax rates ect, but you don't like the area--what is it worth? I'm not a fan of rainy climates and major earthquakes so that nixed several otherwise nice cities for me. I also own a home in Mt. Shasta so I didn't want to live too far from there.

Your mention of Eagle's Point All Cash tells me you must like to golf A LOT. I hope your wife loves it too, as it is the only thing going there that I know of. The area doesn't appeal to me on many levels, but that doesn't mean it not a great place for someone else. That market is overbuilt and you may get a good deal now, as it wasn't the draw that some builders thought it would be. I was forturnate enough to easily spend 7 figures for a home in Ashland so I can't suggest it to others, as it is way more expensive to live here than even Medford. I can easily walk to to the theatre and plaza so tours don't bother me--I don't need to find a parking place. That's the price I paid for living so close to the park, but that's what I like. I wouldn't have moved somewhere else to just save a few dollars and then have to drive everywhere.

I love Ashland as it has offerings of the big city without living in one. I travel A LOT so I get to SF, Portland, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa etc etc and get to take advantage of those places often. It's not that big of a deal to drive to SFO from here. But that's my life--I like the arts and good restaurants and galleries and a bit drier climate.

In conclusion, I would pick my desired area first and then crunch the numbers.

Robert12

I forgot to mention Ryan Webber in my last post--another seasoned investor on BP.

If you watch this forum for even a little while, you will easily pick them out. MikeOh, Wheatie, John Corey, **********, All Cash. I apologize to those I missed. I'm seasoned in the stock market, but I don't count here. I have learned a lot about RE investing from the seasoned investors on BiggerPockets.

Robert12

Like I said All Cash. It's all about local markets. Eagle's Point and Ashland, although geographically close, are HUGELY different markets. I could go on for pages at the difference. Tour buses don't show up to EP daily like they do in Ashland. Ashland has huge draw from far and wide. I have watched the market in Ashland closely for years and we have even had few places that sold above asking recently. THe bidding wars of a few years ago are not happening, but you don't see For Sale signs everwhere. That's the difference between living in the overbuilt hinterland of Eagle's Point, as compared to world class theatre and gorgeous parks in Ashland. It's all about the local markets.

Robert12

I believe it really important to understand the local market. All Cash mentioned seeing places in Oregon with many For Sale signs etc. That is going on in some places for sure, but the market here in Ashland Oregon is not seeing those kinds of problems. The market is relatively soft for Ashland, but properties sell and if the our local papers are correct, Ashland is bucking the national trend. It's a highly desirable place to live with few places to build. It costs a few bucks to live here and I doubt this area ever saw much of a market in subprime loans. I looked up foreclosures in the area and found very few. Now if I went to somewhere like Merced, California, there are numerous foreclosures and a large drop in house values--totally different markets. I also have a townhome near downtown Houston and the area didn't experience the huge bubble. Properties have been appreciating slowly but steadily. Recent sale's have been good--again a different market.

Robert12

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone knows of a really good tax forum--something like BP except for general tax information.

Thanks,

Robert12

Thanks John. I thought there might have been an easier way than doing the math like I had been doing and that you so wisely suggested. Guess I was looking for some quick formula.

Robert12