why to buy if you can rent and make more money

Don't fight the Fed.
The Fed is supporting asset prices and is saying cash is trash and will use it's power to create money to back that up, so even if real estate prices have the potential to go down some in the short term, over the longer term you have Bernanke in your corner cheering on your investment.

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard
in the middle of a desert.
Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night."

So they created a night watchman position and hired a
person for the job.
Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created two positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one Year and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cutback." So they laid off the night watchman.

NOW slowly, let it sink in......................
Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter.

Now, does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of theDEPARTMENT OF ENERGY..... during the Carter Administration?

Anybody?

Anything?

No? Didn't think so!

Bottom line. We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency....the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember!

Ready??

It was very simple.. and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977,
TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.

Hey, pretty efficient, huh???

AND NOW IT'S 2010 -- 33 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE! (THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?")

33 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports. Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports.

Ah, yes -- good old Federal bureaucracy.

NOW, WE HAVE TURNED OVER THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?

Hello?

NOVEMBER 2.'10 ! ! !

Once man invented gods cause he was afraid of the unknown. Yet we know enough to kill each other for a piece of land. -shrug-

So in closing, let me vote the witch/beastilaltiy/creationist cause my take tax went back to what it was 10 hrs ago!!!!!! Beats being on the receiving end of some religion based torture/rape/mutilation.

True story. Told of a armless bomb maker in iraq prison when told to strip for the Americans said 'ha! I lost my arms trying to blow you up!'. Btw in such situations the soldiers make the other prisoners strip that dude.

Once again, witches and beastiality straight out of your mouth. You threw in the witch for columbiacounty, right?

cobico - I agree with you on all but one thing......... 5% guaranteed minimum returns?? Can you PLEASE tell me where I can get that? Would gladly take 4%. Even 3%. The best savings / money market instrument I can find - that can't lose principal (you said safe) - is about 1.5%. The Fed does NOT want us saving money.