But it's impossible to change the HABITS of a lifetime, on average I spend about 4 hours searching for plane tickets before we travel, I always know where the cheapest gas in town is, I always search for coupons for hotels on driving trips, I just replaced our 6 year old cell phones with new ones, I mentally plan out any driving trip, even daily ones and our monthly trip to the big city, I've always bought my clothes on sale.I bought me skis, boots and poles on sale, I ski at least 3 weeks every year (with a ski club-the best value).

Experts are forecasting another 100 years of cheap fossil fuels, so I'm not expecting much to change there unless technologies get drastically cheaper or there's real progress on the global warming front.

Slashing budgets = slashed jobs = slower economyYup, I agree.I don't believe cutting budgets will help fuel growth or stabilize the economy.

The loft in the barn is pretty much a damn frat house, complete with 2 ****** wooden bars- and a stage with a stripper pole!

And possibly cash for keys if the property is bought by a 3rd party at sale.More fuel for my belief that short sales don't benefit borrowers Unless the homeowner qualifies for one of the moving money programs, they get no benefit.

If there is a sufficient discrepancy between the cost of fuels (gas or oil versus electricity), a boiler may be more cost effective during the heating season (but unlikely).Two other advantages of ductless heat pumps that a central boiler cannot deliver are:a) air conditioning (chillers and hydronic baseboards are simply not the same).b) placement of the heating/cooling costs in the hands of the tenants.That said you need to look at the layout of the individual units to determine if they are conducive to being heated with a single ductless heat pump.  

This gives you fuel to invest2.  

For weeks after I would see American flags everywhere, huge flags on poles in the back of pickup trucks, draped over the top of jeeps and huge window stickers galore on every car.

Employment will continue to rise.Inflation fueled by debt will be the greatest threat by end of the year, but I think we've seen this year that it's a delayed risk which the stock market/mortgage rates can overlook in the short run.In Atlanta, I think we'll see rents continue to rise sharply while new construction continues to spin up and non-investor buyers come back into the market.I think multi-national companies, domestic consumer goods/services, and foreign markets will outperform this year.Take this with a grain of salt.

I hope to see some great like minded people here and wish to get to the flag pole and barriers of real estate investors community.