Not to mention the nationalization of our financial and automobile industries.

If you were going to bet on the next best performing electric automobile maker, would you invest you half million with Elon Musk...or the guy tinkering in his garage down the street? 

These homes are like vintage automobiles, you restore them to their original state to multiple their value. 

For me its Automobiles.

Same with loitering on corners throwing up gang signs and parking your automobiles on the front lawn.

by living below his means - He drove a piece of crap car through college AND dental school - he lived way below his means while he was paying off school debt and saving money to buy his practice --- now he owns a considerable practice which generates massive monthly paychecks, but he still drove that same crappy car until it caught fire about 6 months ago --- did he go out and buy the luxury automobile?  

It looks like silver and gold are having a bit of a runup right now so it may be a little late to jump in , but , I will still be on the lookout for junk silver - i have picked up many pieces of stuff other people don't want - just recently( about 3 months ago) we acquired over 12oz of pure silver cause nobody else rumaging through it was interested in it ( it was in the form of some dirty tarnished goblets and tea pot- nearly black) after cleaning what we suspected was silver , we saw the engravings that marked it .999 % silver.I looked up silver and it was like 13$ an ounce - not too shabby - but now with the run up as of late - those pieces are suddenly becoming quite the find.

From Fannie:Borrowed Funds Secured by an AssetBorrowed funds secured by an asset are an acceptable source of funds for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves, since borrowed funds secured by an asset represent a return of equity.Assets that may be used to secure funds include automobiles, artwork, collectibles, real estate [EDIT: eg, a HELOC], or financial assets, such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, and 401(k) accounts.Secured Loans as DebtWhen qualifying the borrower, the lender must consider monthly payments for secured loans as a debt.If a secured loan does not require monthly payments, the lender must calculate an equivalent amount and consider that amount as a recurring debt.When loans are secured by the borrower’s financial assets, monthly payments for the loan do not have to be considered as long-term debt [EDIT: in other words, 401k loans are not only acceptable, but we don't even hit your DTI with the payment].I like to push things; I've been waiting for an opportunity to use artwork-secured debt for ages but it's never come up.

At the same time, I was always able to buy a house with no money down even during this automobile block.

I sell my contract to buy at $25k for $27k before I am actually required to put up the money and take possession of the car.You are claiming that the fact that I am a principal to the initial contract, and to the second, is going to insulate me from having to be licensed as an automobile dealer?