I hate to buy for appreciation only, as then every maintenance issue and catastrophic issue (Collapsed Sewer Line, Air Conditioner, etc.) has to come out from your own pocket and not the investment.

When the last bubble collapsed, experts who studied the data could see clearly it was coming.

It's not for a lack of effort on my part, a desire for entitlements, not being capable or willing to plan for the future, a fear that our fragile economy could potentially collapse at any moment, invested in a major that may or may not have fit with the strong tech market that is today or any the the above. 

How can you say real estate is not rigged when we just came thru the most corrupt mortgage market collapse of all time What about all the political deals for zoning development that made in the back rooms.

As we all sit in anticipation of what the crude collapse means for the Houston market, has anyone had issues with appraisals coming in underwater?  

Conventional got much more strict on lending requirements and upped the percentage of down payment.Here comes in FHA to save the day before the market totally drops as it is cooling off some before the collapse.

It was great for a while, then the market collapsed.

Once the country collapses, everything will be on the table.

Krugman also never mentioned that this “excess spending†help contribute to the collapse of the Cold War and at that time, the debt ratio as a percentage of GDP was still below most western European countries.

Anybody have experiences from the last market collapse?