We are looking in Texas preferably.

Real Estate For the most part is always a good investment. However it is of a personal nature really. The Market can be in the Tank Yet if you do your homework you could find a soft spot - Good investment anytime. Many times in Hot Markets people jump in when things are hot and prices are high and don't do there homework and buy wrong.

The Best time to Buy is when you've done your homework and know for sure your getting the buy that will accomplish your needs.

no because they could not tell you about a problem in the house so you should go there yourself

Yeah, commercial is good, since tenants stay a longer time that apartment people.

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Metternich

well, you can still get good deals if you research the deal well. I have just recently closed an 100% occupied medical office deal in Houston that was at an 7.8% cap, and my client got 6.3% financing. NNN leases with a lot of years still on them. good location. my client is now enjoying a 9.2% return on their money. because of the lease bumps, the value will contiunue to grow.

a client of mine just went under contract to buy a self storage in Greenville, TX. He is putting down 30%, and if all the numbers prove out during due diligence, will end up making almost 12% return on equity, and even some upside in rents.

still lots of good product out there (medical office, self storage, even some hospitality) located in the west and intermountain region (SLC, DEN, BOI). Left and right coastal areas are more often over-priced.

financing has grown a bit tougher because of the sub prime issues, but there's still good rates (6.5% recent quote) for loans over $1M. insurance companies have picked up where the conduit lenders have left off.

Scott had good comments. In general, commercial real estate is expensive right now. But if interest rates stay the same, the market likely won't go down. However, I wouldn't bet on cap rates going back down. With the recent spike in prices over the past few years, supply will likely increase - increasing competition for tenants.

Even in this bad market and struggling economy, I think real estate is and will always be a solid investment.