I know a couple who about three years ago got on the speculation bandwagon.

They were speculators betting the price of housing would continue to appreciate, and they would make money when they sold.

So, unless you're confident these local drives are going to give you some real appreciation, these are money losers.If you get annual appreciation of 5% (very speculative, IMHO) one will be worth $191K and the other $146K after five years.

I do realize the speculative side of my endeavors, I'm lucky I've got a small mortgage left on this triplex, however I have not been in this business long enough to have stockpiled enough capital to step it up to the next level, unlike the seasoned investors that I really enjoy reading here (Wheatie, MikeOh, All_cash, Tim and the others).

Are you interested in speculative investing?

No matter how good the current buying market is, the bank isn't going to lend to you so you can "speculate", which is what you'd be doing.

You are only making speculations and they are very dangerous when dealing in real estate investments.

My guess is that the money you made in speculation creates a buffer for you that most beginning investors don't have.Tim

To me it is risk management that seperates a speculator from an investor.Neil

That's speculation, pure and simple.