Everyone I know with STR in south shore are just vacant til they see how things shake out.

I'd say you're all right.I do think Kiyosaki's statement of "your home is a liability" is a good way to shake average people out of their complacency of thinking "I'll be OK financially in the future because my house is rising in value."

This usually doesn't happen here any more with banks since there is such competition here at this time (but we found extensive damage that was hidden such as the roof having three layers of roofing, the bottom which was cedar shake with ZERO sheeting at all).Pre-purchase: 2bed/1bath 800 sqft finished living space with an unfinished 720sqft basementAfter Rehab: 3bed/2bath 1520 sqft finished living spaceRehab consisted of: demo, re-wire entire house, move electrical panel and update, roof, siding, hardwoods installed, build new bath in basement, add master bedroom in basement, add washer dryer closet in basement, remove upstairs wall and add beams, remove addition in back and rebuild deck, fencing, landscaping, EVERYTHING, you get the idea.This house did take a full month longer for rehab then anticipated, but it all worked out in the end.The Bad: Budgeted 75k for rehab, ended up 88k, anticipated 60day rehab, took 90days, termites, no HVAC where we thought, Water heater was leased so it got removed after buying it (didn't know that), had to fire a contractor and have others fix his bad work, bath tubs were lain incorrectly and was not discovered until we were ready for tile...The Good: House turned out WAY better than thought, the additional time for rehab gave time for neighborhood market to increase as well, low inventory at time of listing, sold in 4 days.Numbers:  Purchase: $165k (CASH)Rehab: $88kHolding costs: roughly $2500All selling/closing/realtor/staging/misc: $35kSelling Price: $369,000 with no concessionsNet Profit roughly:  $82,556

Chart wise, we are favoring a correction at the moment but I don't believe we have seen the last shake up in the near future.

I'm sure you have met a plumber or two, who just make you shake your head.

My analysis however does not take into consideration the effect of an unforseen global shock or tragic event which could shake all markets, but that is the case at all times regardless of what the last ten years have looked like. 

The podcasts are great but sometimes I just shake my head at some of the stuff they say on it lol.

Hi Renae,I have a few suggestions for you, nothing earth-shaking or probably even really exciting, but a few ideas for you.

We have a condo in Scripps Ranch and whatever cash flow we ever made on it pales in comparison to the appreciation we've experienced.Finding properties in SoCal that meet the 50% "rule" are hard to come by unless you shake hands on a mouth-watering deal or buy somewhere in gang-land.

Thanks, Nationwide.I know that email/fax, etc. has largely broken down geographical barriers, but (call me old fashioned), I'd still like to be able to shake his or her hand & speak face-to-face when necessary.