BobS
FormerSanDiegan and Rustico: you guys get it. Radelow & meadandale need to reread my original post. It is about having the liquidity to swoop in and buy at the bottom.
The 3% differential is the cost of keeping liquid. It is not for consumption, mortgage payments, or to look at. It is to keep handy for a screamingly good investment when the bottom comes. When a desperate seller gets my purchase offer with a low-ball price, and a carbon copy of the bank cashier’s check I’ve just drawn with his name on it for the amount I am willing to pay and with a 7-day closing, no financing, then the “cash is king” rule will apply.
BTW, businesses large and small, routinely pay an annual fee to have access to a bank line of credit, just in case of emergency.
