Stocks and investments
- Thread starter Ludacris
- Start date
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- finance investments money stock
The markets including our dollar is really on the rise since Trump took over. There will be a lot of changes coming down thought out next year. I would stay away from foreign stocks. Such places as Mexico etc. Or companies that have ties there. Same goes for European companies. Trump is really starting to clean house lately and so far it's looking good for the U.S. economy.
I think the housing market bubble is going to slow down after the interest rate increase. People will start to think twice about purchasing a home. This is what I was worried about when we were trying to sell our house. There was talk about them raising it back then.
Housing starts tumble from a 9-year high
Housing starts tumble from a 9-year high
Not really no. Housing isn't something to think of as an investment really, unless you are flipping them for a living.Prices go up - great your house is worth more, but if you sell all the other houses are up too and you aren't going to come out ahead buying something else. At least not much, other than if you can haggle a little bit on your purchase and stand firm on a sale price, but the net gain is minimal at bestThat's if you need to take out a loan for a house...
Prices go down - your house is now worth less. other properties are cheaper, but you won't make as much on a sale, so pretty much the same scenario
The only way to invest in this would be to sell when prices are high, then live in limbo renting or mooching off family/friends that will let you stay with them until at some point prices drop where you could buy a nicer place at a lower price.
I guess there is one other way that a house could be an investment, and that is if you rent out the home. I know people that have multiple homes (rent out old one, bought a new one, maybe have multiple old ones) - to me another risky proposition and potentially expensive in terms of insurance. You have to be responsible for upkeep. Even if you carefully select tenants they could trash the place leaving huge repair bills. So much value tied up and trusted in the hands of another that may or may not take care of your property and may or may not be good to cover damages (through insurance or otherwise) if things go terribly wrong.
Then I guess there's general real estate investments, like possibly office/retail spaces that businesses would lease or actual apartment buildings.
Then I guess there's general real estate investments, like possibly office/retail spaces that businesses would lease or actual apartment buildings.
I used a property manager for my house when I rented it. I negotiated a 6% management fee. They screened and selected the tenants based on certain standards of the house owner (me in this case), but I just had to trust them. The property manager also interacts 100% with the tenants, so I didn't have to worry about all the little things or big. But yes, there is still risk, in the future, I would do condos or apartment complexes, but there's just a dirty feeling about thinking about being a "landlord" in the long run.
The two things you have to protect you right away is taking out renters home insurance (replacing your home owners insurance since it's not your primary residence, but only covers certain things, not bad upkeep or property damage done by the tenant) and the deposit, usually a months rent's worth. The secondary factor is doing a walk-through and noting everything and they will make "honest" tenants pay for any damageable things (the property manager does all this). If none of those go through, then you take the tenants to court. This is where horror stories happen (not as common), where you don't end up winning or the renters are unable to pay. This is where doing background checks and having a good relation with the tenants is important.
The main concern iis that the tenants are not going to take care of the house like it was their own, so it's important to lay out rules in the beginning to make them want to take care of it.
The main concern iis that the tenants are not going to take care of the house like it was their own, so it's important to lay out rules in the beginning to make them want to take care of it.