Recent content by Hobo

You are already super diversified -- so you are in the land of rules of thumbs and truly abstract guidelines. Not a bad investment strategy, but you are in a world where personal analysis and opinions have no place. Stray from the established ratios and your a betting against the odds. I like...

I never thought of that idea, but it is a good one. I don't know what power, but I love to look at the small towns the train passes by. Many of this towns you would never see in a lifetime, unless had a reason to go there. Old mining towns are particularly interesting.

Blue-water, Navy Lt(jg) ships company aircraft carrier (USS Ranger) I sure wish we would hear a speech that we as Americans must all work together to help our nation grow back to prosperity again. Everybody must share the pain. We can't put the burden of suffering on only the rich or only...

There was a guy on a radio show, a forgot his name (ugh oh, another senior moment) who gave all sorts of investment advise. He said, if you like your job, you can always retire on the job. Take extra time off with unpaid vacations, turn stressful tasks over to a subordinate, etc. After I...

Good decision. You weren't comfortable with the decision. You can always buy a different house in the future. But you can't always easily sell a house that you are unhappy with. Next time you will be a lot wiser about what to look for - so your dream doesn't turn into a night mare. :greetings10:

I usually planned my stops at big cities at big cities, like Chicago, New Orleans, or Seattle. I stayed at the Wisconsin Dells one time, because it holds memories for me as a kid. Its pretty easy to make hotel arrangements for a town like that - and they were pleased to pick people at the train...

The thought came to me that this is a very expensive second home/tranquility house. A second home in the Outter Banks is just about as "Great Gatsby-ish" as you can get - very opulent purchase. Even if you have the income and savings to allow you to do this, I wonder if this house might be...

I don't like cold weather, but a train trip in the winter is really fun (for me). I can take in the cold weather from the cozy warmth of a train car. Amtrak (http://www.amtrak.com) has many packaged deals which are like tours - everything is planned for you. Or multi-stop tickets for 10 days or...

I had a house near the beach years ago and tried to rental it out as a serviced vacation rental. It required more management effort on my part than I ever managed. You are running it like like business, so you need some maid service and gardening service. Management agency to keep tract of the...

Basically right. I spread the sale over several years and paid the 20% capital gains tax. But I remember writing a check for $156,350 to the IRS in April 2000. That was the first time and last time I ever wrote out a check that large. I remember laughing to myself because writing the...

I don't need that kind of information. The price speaks for itself. Personally, I would prefer a grumpy seller who stays out of the way. I can't imagine what he can pull on you. Real estate is highly regulated and you have done inspections to make sure you are aware of any the physical...

Bestwifeever, my last job was as Public Works Director for a city in California. I became very familiar with municipal bonds. One variety is tax free, and backed by the General Obligation Fund of the City. That is, you get paid ahead of all other expenses the City must pay. Very secure, AA...

Well, let me comment and I hope I don't cross a "personal boundary". I have invested in property all my life, lost some money but made a lot more. I also owned a second home in the mountains of Southern California. First, let me observe that you are obviously a very thorough person who tries...

Hmm Pub.527 or Pub.523? Well you can see the IRS has not made this easy:facepalm: :laugh:

Here's a link to closest IRS publication http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p523.pdf It's pretty complex with a lot of options.Here is an interesting discussion by tax attornies on Linkin:Can I change the cost basis of my primary residence if I convert it to a investment property? | LinkedIn...