This is true for not only gold, but basically everything we have data for: houses, stocks, wheat, pork bellies, copper, iron, a college education, grand pianos, etc.6.

(FYI- a buy and hold will most likely be negative cashflow onPurchase Purchase -$1mPurchase Costs (appx) - $10kTotal purchase costs - $1,010,000Holding CostsMortgage-$5,662/mthTaxes (estimated at 1.15% annually based on 1m purchase price)-  $958/mthInsurance - $250/mth (could be more these days)Total holding costs per month are around $6,870Assuming the best case scenario of the property needing no maintenance or rehab and a quick turn around of 2 months for listing for sale to close of sale, your holding costs would be $13,740SaleSale Price $1,200,000minus sales costs (~6% -see comments above) $72kNet Sale proceeds - $1,128,000So, in the best, best, best case scenario the #'s are:$1,128,000 (potential sale proceeds)minus costs of$1,010,000 total purchase costs$13,740 holding costsFor a grand total of $104,260 in potential net profit if EVERYTHING goes as planned with NO repair costs and a very quick sale, etc.

That's nothing in the grand scheme of things.

When we had the new one done the cost to bring the building into compliance was a grand total $5,000, $1,500 for 1 unit and $3,500 for the other.

All those people don't pick up and leave as quick as they came when the economy cools down.Smaller centres like Grand Prairie that are highly Oil & Gas driven are far more volatile and cash flow and vacancy can vary greatly based on the economy.

That quote was 8 grand and change!

So the total tax I paid (not including deductions to keep it simple) of the $15,000 I made would be $900 for SE Tax and $2250 for the C-Corp tax rate for a grand total of taxes paid of $3150...?

Why not just take the 5 grand and go apply what they taught us in the market since the only way to really learn is by doing.

I would live on the central coast of CA (SLO, Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, Arroyo Grande, etc) and invest where it made sense.

Hey, if I can make at least 10 grand in a few days, and only do some cosmetic work, that is the way to go.