Many homes I've been in have the filter clogged, a sure sign you're going to spend $ right off the bat.

The military spends money like there is no tomorrow on ridiculous stuff, and we really don't get much of a return from it.

I am a wholesaler and spend in excess of 40 hours per week viewing properties and tabulating the other necessary information involved in a wholesale transaction, which would be impossible for an investor with a fulltime job.

My first question is, is it worth it for us to spend a little more of our income on a home and still continue to save or to stay where we are for awhile and save more each month for our future real estate investments?

A decade ago, a good business plan, preferably technology based, would have gotten you more money than you could spend.

Borrowed money and cash all spend the same to them...based on m experiences.FHA on distressed RE is going to be tough, short sale or otherwise.

If they have a billion in dept, they are restricted from lending up to 5 times that amount by the feds.

Example: If you can sell the property for 150K with costs to get it sold of 15K (commissions, closing fees), spend 100K buying and repairing and holding costs, this leaves a pre-tax net of around 35K (150 - 15 - 100 = 35).

One guy saw it coming and made $40 billion--that's billion with a B--for his hedge fund based on his hunch.

"To be frank, since the TARP money came in, they are still selling off (properties at auction), but they kind of took a step back." . . .Real Estate Disposition LLC (REDC), which claims to be the nation's largest real estate auction company, held 300 ballroom auctions in 2008 and sold nearly 33,000 foreclosed homes for $3.4 billion -- a seven-fold increase in sales volume and nearly triple the proceeds the company generated in 2007.Company CEO Jeffrey Frieden said he expects to "smash that record" this year as banks and lenders continue to amass a huge inventory of foreclosed homes and are more motivated than ever to sell their inventory. . . .Some observers fear that if the massive amount of debt the government is taking on to stimulate a recovery, inflation -- and higher interest rates -- are inevitable consequences.