These same "regular folks" that you sympathize with were the ones that would think they were very smart had their gamble paid off.Regarding banks, I think bank management deserves to be blamed by their shareholders, not their borrowers.

Smart?

Welcome to the site, Andrew, and congrats on being smart with your money.

I was talking with another colleague about a real estate project returning 30% on his money within 6 months. He brought up a point that for him lending his money to the project and getting 30% on his money could be c...

Im looking for a smart camera solution with a hotspot with some sort of baby camera or motion notification.

Detroit made a concentrated effort to appeal to the hipster - which was smart as heck. 

Some very smart rocket scientists then figured that they could create "free money" by creating nationwide bundles of loans which would presumably have no systemic risk of decline while at the same time earning above-normal returns.

All it took was some paper, a printer, & some stamps :) LOTS of info, and many smart people there willing to help out ...

RuudDude,You sound like a smart kid really contemplating big issues.

I don't think it's a smart thing to DO without personally visiting the area.In my opinion, to invest out of your area of expertise, you need to first go visit that area, spend some good time on the ground and form your team there personally.