1)Yes, picking the top or the bottom is hard, maybe impossible. I’m hoping that sorta near the bottom will be good enough. I’m expecting the bottom to be long and flat, which would make it easier to time. I also figure that if that happens, it’d obviously be better to buy towards the end of the flat part, if you could manage to be so lucky.If you have an opinion on that, I’d like to hear it.
2)As far as a 10-year hold time, that’s another good point. If I keep some as rentals, which is part of the plan, I’d be expecting to hold them for a minimum of 8 years, probably somewhat longer for some of them. But what about buying at a discount from a bank, maybe even in bulk and turning them immediately for a profit? What’s your opinion on the profitability of that? Some guys at work are talking about buying in bulk in the 2012-14 time frame. If this thing continues to go badly, that could be the time frame when banks are overwhelmed with properties the don’t want to own. I’ve heard that in that situation they give larger discounts if you take a number of properties off their hands at once. The guys at work are talking with a professional about pooling resources and buying in bulk, where the discounts are greatest. Of course, at that point, they’ll be next to impossible to sell without giving your own discount. I guess that’s the sticky part. Thoughts?
3) Im not planning on investing in any property that won’t cash flow. Do you think that’s a good plan, or do you think some flexibility is warranted there?
When you say “reserves,” what do you mean? Why do I need that? How much?
