Due the high property taxes in Cook County, my carrying cost is around $2175.

Just don't try fixing your tenant's car or cook for them!

Im thinking of putting maybe half of it in stocks and other half in real estate.In bangkok, a newly built mid-end condo, with modern facilities, carparks,for a 1 bed, 40 sqm in good location, fairly near sky train and fully furnished is maybe around 3m-4m baht. agency says i cud get around 22k-25k baht a month but im guessing its prob more like 15k-20k baht. most Thai wages will not be able to afford the rent, but its ideal for expats working in bkk. so the return is maybe around 6% before all costs, vacancy periods and appreciation/depreciation.ive been reading a lot of negative and pessimistic views about condo as a buy-to-let especially in bkk. there r so many condos in bkk and many being built as land is not scarce yet cos old buildings can be cleared and new projects started easy. and other factors i dont know. also traffic is a nightmare and the condos that are centrally located (and most expensive) have one of the worst traffics (altho it wud prob be near sky train or underground which would be ok for expats.keep in mind that i ll be paying in lump sum, wouldnt mind to gain some real estate exposure (im fairly interested in the industry),do you think its worth it to buy a condo in bkk as a buy-to-let?

Mike, I've always wanted to get into self/mini-storage facilities.

Steve Cook has some good stuff, Sean Terry's and Real Estate Investing Mastery podcast are really full of good stuff.

Thanks for looking, like I said This is not my nitch and I don't want to give bad advise to a friend. love to find her a Lo but maybe a 2 yr rent is not a bad idea either, with that fairly fresh BK she needs time to cook anyway???

I am in it for the long haul, I have two that I am letting cook.

Growing a rental portfolio at the same time, closing in on 100 houses (will probably hit that mark in Q1 2013, bought about 50 of them this year and most of the rest last year), plus a few apartment complexes and a self storage facility.

Look elsewhere if you want flips that aren't going to be constantly subjected to vandalism, theft, and home-cooked meth projects.

The Cook County property taxes rose so much in the past 5 years, it just doesn't make sense for me to own any real estate there.