Peter, take half out and go buy some real estate.If I had the liquidity I would be king right now. Ask anyone who's been in the game they are making all there money right now while the suffering continues for the rest.I just brushed myself off and have just broke ground on a 1.3 million spec home.Am I nervous hell yeah but im very optomistic this house will be sold quickly.My buddy bought a 2 bedroom condo in ft myers with a boat slip on the callosahatchee for 100k 6 yrs ago he paid 300k.

good luck.

PC
I suspect real estate is a case by case basis, I wouldn't spec build anything in FL right now due to high inventories at every level (from mansions to starter homes). In many cases the current values are less than the cost to build new or even what they sold for 10 years ago.

Case in point is a story on Scottie Pippen's Lauderdale mansion. Asking 16MM, county says it is worth 4MM.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/busi...ttie_pi_1.html

Value should be somewhere in between the 4 and 16 numbers (probably closer to the 4 though :eek:). But from looking at the size of the house it is cheaper to buy this one than build one like it.

Thanks for the info guys. I have been talking to financial advisers. I DO plan to diversify. And everyone is right. I have no clue what is the best for me, thus the inquery. I am researching, learning and getting some ideas.
Real Estate is great in the right area. I been looking, but Florida is DONE. More people moving out then in and it is cheaper to buy then to build. I can build somethng cheaper then just about anyone since I have CGC license, but I can actually buy cheaper then even I can build. The problem is WHERE? FT. Myers, Cape Coral. etc. are dieing. The only relatively safe place is in Orlando. For investment it's ok. I know that apartments are being built again and 4-5 years later they will be condos. It's a 5 year recapture rate. Thanks for the input, keep them coming. I already did some things and will do some more.

I have a lot of $$ (for me anyways) in 3 Vangaurd funds (Vangaurd Inst Index VINIX, Vangaurd Mid Cap Index VMCIX, and Vangaurd Small Cap Index VSCIX) and agree they have some of the lowest fees aroung and the returns have been really good in the past year (up 20-30% in some cases). But I also look at my investments on a daily basis and make changes accordingly. My one piece of advice is to stay proactive. Don't think just because it is making money today that it will make you money tomorrow.

where?? got to start looking and florida definately has buy's. villas on HHI are going from 50k to 100k. My friend just bought a three bedroom 2nd row ocean for 825k 50% 0ff from 2006 hes going to flip at 1.1mil asap.

The "flip" side to that argument could be your buddy is going to flip the 825K property for 600K asap. Prices are still falling in most areas and there is no crystal ball dictating that they will return to the uber high of 2005-06. Last time real estate dipped in S. FL it took 10 years to get back to the prior levels (late 80's thru late 90's). Of course it was no where near the fall we had this time and there wasn't millions of foreclosures to help bring down the market further.

Some areas the prices have reset to 2000-2002 levels wiping out the boom (middle of the decade) and some prior value.

Look at core value of property, does it have something irreplaceable? If not, pass.

A good analogy would be dot com stocks AFTER the bubble burst.....you could buy a lot of cheap stocks but no guarantee they would return to previous levels. Real estate could be the same especially if the buyers were planning on selling stuff "up north" for a big profit to come to Florida. If the "up north" stuff is sitting/not selling for a profit then the Florida stuff will suffer also.

Paradox,

I would be happy to help you or refer you to a qualified advisor in your area. I have been in this business for 25 years.

Dean Howard
Morgan Stanley

Couple examples of Real Estate stuff.
New Yersey. My sister brought an old but nice home about 5-6 years ago for half a mil. Now its about 200-300K.
Rockford, near Chicago. My parents huse.. worth about half what was 6-7 years ago.
My house, north of Tampa. Bought it ok 4 years ago, now less then half of what it was.
My sold house in Boca, (FLA) Sold it ok in 2004 now worth 1/3rd less.
There is $ to be made buying Real Estate, homes and Commercial props as well, but now more then ever, location is the key. Cities are not growing, schools are loosing students, older 55-65 years people are staying in their existing homes. There is an actual code in FLA, upgrading existing homes, Called "stay in place". I took the seminar. OK idea, makes sense. I am looking around in Orlando. The least amount of migration out of FLA. Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, Punta Gorda... empty.
Investing in RE is ok, but it will take a decade to get a reasonable recapture amount. I would really like to buy some dirt, put up some apartment units, rent, (it will rent) and sell or convert to condos 5 +- years later. Any partners wanna bees? :) I can't do it alone, nor would I want to. I want some one to keep an eye on me when I do something stupid, and be frank and honest.

Give me a call, later this PM.
561 504-3635

Thx

Peter