If you structure everything correctly, REI provides an excellent tax shelter that's legal.

If you had friends that were shut down I would guess they were doing something pretty egregious, as it is rare that someone gets the boot without a chance to self-correct first.

Was a large portion of the spoiled food in the freezer?

.$60,200 for 30 yrs @ 7% = $400.51 <----- The most you could pay for a property that rents for $1000.Somebody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.Bartstop

Sam,You are correct that there is a due on sale clause in most if not all mortgages.

Some individuals are having a difficult time.During the real estate boom there were still people not doing so well.This is because they made bad decisions and are suffering the consequences of living too high on the hog during the boom.This is the kind of economy that will create many millionaires, take advantage of this time because there is plenty of money to go around.This is just a natural thing in the economy.It is called a correction in the stock market.If you believe the doom and gloom of the media your doomed anyway.Our economy is the strongest in the world period.The question I have Is there food on your table a roof over your heads and cloths on your back.Hmmmm I guess your not so bad off.You just have to give up a couple of luxuries.Maybe you can;t afford that new model of 10,000 inch plasma screen TV oh well.If you have the neccesities and your family there is nothing to complain about.My wife is filipina and i have been to the philippines.

My profile doesn't seem to be updating correctly.

No matter what the seller is getting hit with a 5% fee...the only difference is whether all 5 % goes to the seller's agent or 2.5% to seller and 2.5% to buyer.Am I understanding this correctly?

I don't like the fact that I can't get a nice rioja at Whole Foods but oh well...;-) It seems like a pretty good market for real estate investment.

I'll leave it to the reader to decide which is correct, but I certainly think that these wild claims must be challenged every time they come up.