When you invest in stocks, you are spending money, as in one use only, and the % rules tell you how much time it will take until you will get your "cost" back.In REI, the only % rule I use is CoCReturn.  

rental properties, stocks, bonds, etc).  --- This $300,000 investment also ties back to my concern whether bay area prices are in "bubble territory" and if there is a chance that I lose parts of my principal or if the $300,000 would grow faster and less risky in other asset forms.About Me:I forgot to mention a bit about my background and finances...

Either in real estate or in the stock market.

They didn't have it in stock, but i ordered it online and they shipped it to the store for me to pick up.

Ok so here's my situation and I'm hoping to get a myriad of opinions knowing full well there might not be one right answer.I'm 26, singleI live in Los AngelesMake 55k a year before taxI have around 20k in invest-able cash   (recently taken out of stock market, please don't crucify me!)

If you pay extra towards principle on a fixed mortgage, you can't call the lender and have them send back the extra principle the next month!

Do you guys all have a van well stocked with tools with which you use to drive to your investments?

This all came about by referencing @J Scott 's bookPretty much anything is possible as long as everyone agrees and you have the attorneys involved to make sure everything is drawn up legally.In this case if the seller needs cash fast then it won't work, but in principle doing some kind of profit split is not a bad idea at all and can be a win/win for both parties.BTW just by the numbers you gave for this property this is a great example of using the numbers how I mentioned before.

Otherwise, I recommend you consider real estate investment funds with proven managers, similar to a stock market mutual fund.

The stock market rally is pretty long in the tooth, bonds are yielding next to nothing, and commodity speculation isn't appealing to me.Due to this, I am considering purchasing my first investment property to rent out.