Get a new one about Aus$25,000, there's people replacing their 5.8's every couple of years so good supply of two year old boats about Aus$17000, three brand new Nacra 5.8's launched in the last 4 months with about 30 expected at the Nacra National titles at lake Cootharaba near Noosa Queensland over New Years. I've got a boat to lend you on your sailing pilgrimage or you can have a shot on all of them. Here's another video from about 6 weeks ago that shows the New 5.8 sails in the background and me giving my wife a thorough rinsing
https://youtu.be/IgcT5PaEKU4

Holy cow that seems like a bad idea.... There are some who say there has been no moral compass in the USA since the late 1860s Isn't that why we're supposed to be wiped off the map by a certain radical group?

I get so confused these days... Where are those lodestones to recalibrate this compass?

Our entire economy is built on debt and I agree that there are too many people with no savings. This was part of the reason why we pushed the housing industry years ago and that system encouraged people to buy housing which was an investment/savings....except that big banking figured out a way to profit off the poor practices of a lot of people and things got out of control. Even Trump makes his money off debt and by simply using other people's money (debt) to make things happen.

OPM (Other Peoples Money) is the whole Ponzi scheme of real estate investing...

Any idea on what's going on here Todd?

North Pole an insane 36 degrees warmer than normal as winter descends

We're too small a country, lazy and laid back to set our own way, now like a remora we just need to suck onto something and follow them, suddenly the nutters in our government are talking about stronger links with China, yea right like that's a good idea

China is your #1 trading partner.... what links need to be strengthened?



Bloody hell.... do we drink that much Fosters here in the US?

I think Bundy is used as a chemical cleaner.

Real Aussies don't drink fosters, it's for poms and tourists, if you took fosters to a barbie everybody would take the piss out of you

What's up with this?


File this one under either “Be careful What You Wish For” or “Elections Have Consequences.”

The good folk of Clay County, KY voted by a huge margin of 86-11for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in last week’s presidential election.

It also turns out that:

About 60 percent of Clay County's 21,000 residents are covered by Medicaid, up from about a third before the expansion. The counties [sic] uninsured rate for nonelderly adults has fallen from 29 percent to 10 percent.

That means that a good portion of the residents of that county just voted to have their own medical coverage taken away from themselves, their families and their neighbors.

Then it must be all the Yellow Tail Shiraz and Pinot Garcio.... stuff that if you brought to cookout in CA.... well you get the hint..

I tend to think that "investment" idea was a marketing sham as well. Housing to me is, well, shelter. Buy it and pay it off. It's not an "investment" or a bank account.

Especially today when it appears that millenials have no interest in buying housing (and the debt, maintenance, and other hassles associated with property ownership), it would appear that my housing "investment" may not produce the kind of yield that the industry touts as reason to keep buying bigger houses.

And who would be the beneficiary of this housing "investment"? I can't realize the net gain on the house until I sell it, and then I'm out of shelter? Or would my beneficiaries get the gain when I'm dropped in a hole in the ground?

Shows how out-of-fashion my thinking is these days prioritizing security (financial/physical) over some "net worth" or "buying power" figure on papers...

A harsh truth about fake news: Some people are super gullible

Todd? Schwantz? Carl?!?!

To me it is an investment despite the market, and it has done pretty well for my portfolio.. On two of my properties the rent is almost double the mortgage.

And I agree, these are not ATM machines like many have done in the past... Can't believe I am starting to hear the ads again, refi you house, payoff you debt and refi some more when you debt gets back up again...

In your case, real estate is an investment. I was referring to people that don't have anything other than their primary residence as "real estate holdings"

In the rental/leasing business, who do you find are the tenants? People who can't afford a mortgage, those who don't WANT a mortgage, or something else?

;-)

Not a question I can really answer...

We have two military bases near by, and we're registered with the Base Housing Office... this is where 99% of our tenants come from. We need to keep the rent and deposits under certain amount for them to list it; however, there are some back end advantages.... never have to worry about rent or any legal issues... tenants are pre-screened... and they are generally some good people to work with... in the past 30 years only once have I had to bust balls with a tenant, and even then one call to the CO and the problem was solved...

But we do have one that wants to be close to the private school their kids are in.... think about it, forgoing owning a house to send their kids to a private school... what does the tell you about the schools in The Peoples Republic of California.

I certainly view my real estate as an investment. I own 2 properties, I intend to sell them at a profit down the road and have more cash than I started with. At that time I will need to purchase another home, and I will intend to do the same maneuver. When I can no longer take care of myself or/and a home, that investment is cashed in.

Sounds great on paper, and this strategy will likely prove successful as you have several parcels..

At the time you decide to sell your properties, do you expect to find alternative land/housing at a more attractive price than you paid for your original two parcels? Or would you in effect be "downsizing" by combining the proceeds from the sale of these parcels into fewer purchases (like one parcel instead of two)?

If I sold my house now I'd see a profit versus what I bought it for, but to buy an identical house (size, location, age, etc) I would have to pay more than the sale of my current one. So my net result might be negative if I chose to sell and buy something else.

Which was my thought regarding considering your primary residence an "investment". If I had other parcels, of course I'd consider those investments since I can sell them and still retain a roof over my head.

I think maybe I fall into the "Ron Swanson school of finance": Bury it in the back yard...? Or perhaps considering "cash-on-hand" as a measure of buying power rather than net worth (which requires borrowing = paying someone else for the privilege of using your money)

Don't fret... It's almost as bad here in FL. I got two in private school which means I won't be buying a foiler for another 12 years. And that's IF they get scholarships (they aren't minority or otherwise disadvantaged kids).

All for the hope that they will be able to afford a nice old-folk home to put me in when I'm decrepit. Otherwise it will likey be that trailer park that smells like pee.