Thread: Retirement/Investment Planning

Originally Posted by Rad

That's what I've noticed. I've started buying land. I use whole term life insurance to stash away money, max on qualified accounts, and some other things I can't really talk about.

Again everyone's situation is unique but I wouldn't buy land unless I paid for it cash and had a good information that the value was going to increase soon. The reason is that land doesn't give you any revenue, you basically just have to sit on it and pay the taxes every year until you sell it. However if you wait long enough you could make some decent money.

Our neighbors at our hold house use to own all the lots on our street. They were an old Italian couple (also Realtors) that bought the lots at 4K an acre in the late 60's. In the 90's they were selling them at 180K and in 2007 they sold the last 2 lots down the street at 450K each.

I plan on sitting on land just outside of the developed area for at least 10 years. As the urban sprawl continues the land will be more valuable and I can then develop commercial properties on it.

Originally Posted by CivilWars

True, but the stock market is suddenly stable? People in both sectors saw half, or more, of their income disappear in a very short time frame. Real estate is no different than anything else, you make money when you buy, not when you rent or sell. I am not necessarily advocating avoiding the stock market and putting all of your money into real estate, although IMO that is a safer "gamble", but to just write real estate off as too risky to even consider is very short-sighted.

I made up everything I lost in my 401k. The housing market may take a decade to.recover for those that have lost 50% or more on their properties.

I guess foreclosure was the easy way out for many, but there goes 100% of their investments, in addition to their credit.

Real.estate is only good if you can afford the payments through the peaks and valleys.

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Real estate is good if you plan for positive cash flow. Speculation, even educated speculation, is dangerous regardless of sector.


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Originally Posted by CivilWars

Real estate is good if you plan for positive cash flow. Speculation, even educated speculation, is dangerous regardless of sector.


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Just don't be a fool and learn from the mistakes of many others a few years ago. Many lost everything, including their primary residence.

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Originally Posted by HeavyG

Just don't be a fool and learn from the mistakes of many others a few years ago. Many lost everything, including their primary residence.

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By the same token I see many old people working at walmart that probably thought they could rely on their 401k.

Rent rates in many areas have dropped, but nowhere near the % that house prices did. The housing bubble is not much different than the tech bubble. Some people made money, so lots of people thought it would just keep going up, but guess what, speculation can make you, or break you.


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But it seems the value of land has always been pretty constant (in terms of increase) if you have patience. No? I'm not claiming to be a real estate expert, but this is what I'm starting to put my money in at the moment.

Much of it depends on the market. In some locations, like CA, NV, AZ, and FL, it way outpaced inflation, but has now fallen way off. If you speculate correctly on where expansion will head then you can do well, just like if you speculate correctly in any other sector. Just my opinion based on what I have studied of real estate.

The other downside to land, at least in my opinion, is that it creates no cashflow unless you eventually lease it to someone else. I personally prefer cashflow to simple asset accumulation. If you buy a few acres for 100K, and I buy a house for 100K, if I make $750/month after all expenses are taken out then I could care less if the house ever goes up in valuse, but you have to hope that your land increases in value at a rate greater than inflation plus taxes that you have paid in order for you to turn a profit when you sell.