How much time is involved in managing the property, legal/financial risk in renting in a litigious society and finally alternative investments for your hard earned dollars.

Before you make an investment, you should look at all the alternatives for your money and should invest in the one that gives you the best rate of return.

I am trying to find out what alternatives exist that would give returns similar or close to that of a rental property.Tom, I understood that C-Corp would be the only way to do this real estate investments via the 401k.

It's cheap for a reason but under the right circumstances it could be a money maker or, alternatively, it could be a value trap.

Somewhere on BP I had a thread or blog about alternate energy.

I have checked on forced place insurance with Proctor and Statebridge but it is very expensive, I'm looking for another alternative.

Your other alternative is to sell and move your business to a different location, perhaps even a different city, that has a pools of customers that fit with your desired business model.If you run an upscale bar in an area that's going down hill, and someone else opens up a dive bar next door and takes all your customers away, you're toast.

It disguises their fear.For any new investors contemplating dropping a few thousand for real estate "education", allow me to offer this alternative:1.

:lol: You are limiting your potential too much, especially in this market.Also I assume sunrooms and terraces are great features where you are located, but I would research what homebuyers really are looking for in your area.With that type of cash reserve that you have, you could also wholesale and flip all type of properties nowadays (short sales, REOs) without fixing or waiting a year.There are so many options out there - but, if you plan to buy a property to live in it, fix it up and resell it, HUD is only one of the possible alternatives.

If the sellers are asking to much thats OK; 1. you make new friends, 2. show them how you can solve their problems, 3. show them their alternatives, 4. keep in touch with them when they initially say no, 5. follow up and renegotiate (may take 2 or 3 negotiations), 6. then once the seller(s) have seen they have little other options they will call you back.