One of my best contacts told me that an REO listed for 180,000 sold for all cash, 225,000.On top of that, the banks are actually fixing many of the homes up to "move in" status, so an owner occupied buyer is moving in.What this will do in the long run is back up inventory, create a false price appreciation, thus causing a glut and price reduction just to turn RP assets into Cash assets.California investing is going to take patience in 2009 and 2010.

I have seen so many false documents to claim ownership and they fly...cuz the recorder isn't well versed in real estate and just records a document with specifics...Would the title company know how to get the title if they are dead or just pay the tax and foreclose if no heirs have claimed it in 20 years...???? 

Someone on another thread yesterday posted that this is a "false sense of financial security"....that you can be secure and still have leveraged rental investments.

That sounds absurd on the surface but I've exceeded it several times and made money once on a commuter that I paid $1300 for, drove 60k miles and sold for $2500.

Your marriage success comparison to RE success comparison is false on many fronts (unless you literally treat marriage as a business transaction and nothing else, but even then the downside is scary).

If that turns out to be a false assumption, then all bets are off. 

The internal revenue code section I cited clearly states that an individual who willfully supplies false information on a W-4 and is convicted thereof will face harsh penalties beyond under-withholding penalties. 

CA and pretty much the whole west coast is just beautiful, there is a reason for the absurdly high real estate prices.

Once they can do that, they can simply offer accurate numbers to their potential buyers rather than look like incompetents as so many do pitching false numbers.

The HELOC was great when interest rates were low - now the advantage has shifted to the life insurance, but I will continue to use both.There is certainly merit to the argument about commission sales - but to generalize and say ALL commissioned life insurance agents are pushing high commissions over quality advice is just false.