I don't agree with Mike all the time and am not as blunt as he is, but I must say, he hit that nail on the head!

Yes... and so far we have not been hit as hard by the economic crisis.

I like spending time watching movies, playing Xbox, going outside and hitting a few, networking on BP, playing online poker ect....How does an individual become and stay motivated to excell?

I have had appraisors work with me inthe past, helping me hit my loan goals.

If you get out on nice Saturday and Sunday afternoons you'll hit open houses and be able to do some looking without having an agent involved.

It hit me one day - if I'm in a position where I NEED to use precious metals as a "currency" then what I'm going to be using it for that I desperately need is food.

Mitigation plan - What happens if you get hit by a beer truck?

The stock market is too efficient.I prefer to spend more time on less efficient markets like RE where my extra knowledge and research will likely allow me to earn above average returns.

I feel that the real estate investment market has already hit bottom, and will stay there for the next 12 months or so.

The rules that govern qualified plans such as 401(k)s and profit sharing plans allow much more flexibility in your investment options, the ability to borrow, mortgage the properties in the plan with out getting hit with UBTI.I have set up a couple of thousand 401(a)s over the years for my client's corporations and LLC and many of them actively invest in real estate in their plans.