Explain gold investing to me??

[grsthegreat]

both my tenants are great. keep the places up nicely. I have insurance that pays any major damage less $1,000 deductible so i really have no issues or worries.

I dont trust the stocks to keep rising, so im in the process of taking alot of my stocks locked into IRA's and using that money to purchase rental houses which will be tied to the ira's.

I dont worry about tenants cause im real picky of who i pick. Ive been working for property management companies long enough to know what to look for.

Im sure i too would get sick of it if i had 2 terrible tenants, but so far i love it.

As far as property value goes, i purchased my place in 1993 at low time in property values and built my house myself. I have aprox $150,000 invested and have had the place appraise near $700,000.

I say now and no one will ever convince me otherwise....property is the safest investment...as long as you dont buy at top of market. Last Dec i felt the house prices were at the low point here in North Idaho, so i offered a lowball cash price and offered a 7 day escrow with no inspection . Heck, the house is 8 years old and i know the builder. I looked thru the crawl and attic. was immaculate.

they accepted, and 1-1/2 weeks later i had it on the rental market. Was occupied 10 days later by tenants that worked for a friend of mine.

I feel the market is still low enough to pick up 1 or 2 more rental units, and i stay away from old houses. the one im looking at right now was built in 2009. It will be an all cash offer again.

The cash im offering is only earning 0.75% in a CD account. Instead of earning $1,200 per YEAR in interest i can get 1000 - 1,100/month in rent. Its a no brainer. Now if i can swing a IRA purchase...that would even be sweeter....but i have an estate lawyer looking into the processes involved... and they seem like a pain in the butt. But im not giving up hope. I would LOVE to dump my IRA locked stocks and purchase real estate.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Murray being a college town it seems some do well renting to that market since the parents often pay or help pay the rent and most care for them in a way to get their security deposit returned.

What to invest in will vary from person to person. I would not want to own rental housing but all that I know who does or have done so did well thanks to inflation for the most part.

Investing in gold at $250 an oz sounded expensive at the time just like investing at $1800.

I do not have any but income producing farm land would be my choice but property taxes could get to be an issue as local governments start to fail at a faster rate.

My mind can not wrap around what may happen when the US Dollar is no longer the world's Reserve currency.

I think we can expect our IRA's and 401 type accounts will be tapped by the US Government without our permission so they can get their cut sooner than later. The unknowns seem to grow by the day.

 

[Kryton619]

Murray being a college town it seems some do well renting to that market since the parents often pay or help pay the rent and most care for them in a way to get their security deposit returned.

What to invest in will vary from person to person. I would not want to own rental housing but all that I know who does or have done so did well thanks to inflation for the most part.

Investing in gold at $250 an oz sounded expensive at the time just like investing at $1800.

I do not have any but income producing farm land would be my choice but property taxes could get to be an issue as local governments start to fail at a faster rate.

My mind can not wrap around what may happen when the US Dollar is no longer the world's Reserve currency.

I think we can expect our IRA's and 401 type accounts will be tapped by the US Government without our permission so they can get their cut sooner than later. The unknowns seem to grow by the day.

Hello Gale....you make some great points that I agree with.

Cities and municipalities will be under greater pressures to raise taxes due to pensions payments etc. Chicago has hinted that they will have to double property taxes. ( Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Warns of Doubled Property Taxes to Fund Spiraling Pension Costs )

All of the major western countries including the UK, Australia, US, and Canada now have "bail-in" provisions that have been passed into law which will allow banks to seize depositors money if / when they get into trouble.

The writing is already on the wall with respect to the US being the reserve currency. It seems that Russia and China will sign an energy deal in May which will have Russia supplying China with energy needs. While all oil purchases are supposed to be made in USD, I and many others doubt that this will happen. I can see trade in these two countries being made in Rubles, Yuan, or gold. Saudi Arabia feels slighted regarding the Iran deal, so they most likely won't be to far behind. This will bring an end to the petro dollar.

China is the largest producer of gold in the world. They are also the largest importer of gold in the world. When they have enough...which is getting closer (They haven't released the amount of their official holdings since 2009) they will suggest to the world that their's will be the next reserve currency and it will be backed by gold unlike the Euro, British Pound, USD, CDN Dollar etc. which are backed by nothing other than the "full faith and credit" of the issuing country. All fiat currencies (currencies that are unbacked) in the history of the world have failed because politicians can't help themselves and feel the need to buy votes with dollars that they don't have.....so they just print more.

I have told my children since they were old enough to understand....It doesn't matter if you are an individual, small business, corporation, city, province, or country, you can only go on spending more than you bring in for so long before the day of reckoning arrives....and it always does.

 

[Steve_Miller]

If your dollar is worth nothing then what will any gold buy you. Without currency what will function other than crime. When you want to cash your gold in for retirement (i assume this is why it is amassed on paper) how much is the government wanting for capital gains as I assume you won't have the actual gold in your hand to cash in and the transaction will have to be claimed? Curious as to everyone's opinions (including my own) on how things will pan out in the future. Only way I can see amassing gold would be to stockpile it and that would become dangerous if anyone knew you had the actual gold on hand. Curious as to how gold is used as a value.

Steve

 

[grsthegreat]

tell me..what prevents the US govt from privatizing GOLD and making it illegal to use as a currency . They have done it before. IZf you believe they can seize our $$$ why not your gold.

 

[grsthegreat]

oh, and one other thing to consider. Income generated from home rentals WILL NOT count against your Social Security payments like holding a job will. Again..win win

 

[Kryton619]

If your dollar is worth nothing then what will any gold buy you. Without currency what will function other than crime. When you want to cash your gold in for retirement (i assume this is why it is amassed on paper) how much is the government wanting for capital gains as I assume you won't have the actual gold in your hand to cash in and the transaction will have to be claimed? Curious as to everyone's opinions (including my own) on how things will pan out in the future. Only way I can see amassing gold would be to stockpile it and that would become dangerous if anyone knew you had the actual gold on hand. Curious as to how gold is used as a value.

Steve

I would never own paper gold or silver. I own only physical. I am true believer in that you truly only own what you can stand in front of and defend. I don't keep it at my house or in a bank....but it is very secure.

In every other case of fiat currency failure, the country has returned to a gold standard. IMO....the key is to have enough food, water, and ammunition to keep yourself and family safe until there is a currency reset.

Gold of course has value....it is the reason why kings owned it, and every central bank in the world covets it.

 

[Kryton619]

tell me..what prevents the US govt from privatizing GOLD and making it illegal to use as a currency . They have done it before. IZf you believe they can seize our $$$ why not your gold.

You are correct....the USA did demand every citizen to turn in their gold or face a fine. Shortly after "all" citizens turned in their gold they raised the price.

I live in Canada....our government did not demand their citizens to turn in their gold.

 

[Kryton619]

oh, and one other thing to consider. Income generated from home rentals WILL NOT count against your Social Security payments like holding a job will. Again..win win

In Canada no income that you receive counts against your government pension. That of course is assuming that there will still be money left to pay government pensions when the time comes to collect it. Take for example the government workers in Detroit.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

In Canada no income that you receive counts against your government pension. That of course is assuming that there will still be money left to pay government pensions when the time comes to collect it. Take for example the government workers in Detroit.

Good point about money to pay government pensions.

In the USA should/when the US Dollar falls from its current position as the currency of the world I think one's retirement plans should only require 50% of any and all pensions and other retirement money sources. Not sure I will be able to do that but we know pensions, SS, etc are going to be cut over and over at some point in time so everyone gets something.

Living a simple home with low energy requirement, heating with wood, growing meat and other food stuffs may need to be considered in some cases. Over all we will adapt but should a 25% drop in standard of living come to many in the USA it is going to hurt those of us living on the edge today.

No debt will be a requirement if our retirement incomes drop like a rock. The retired person with welding skills and a little shop behind the house make look like a smart person. People with their own businesses can just keep working if they offer the right mix of services perhaps.

Personally I do not expect a total collapses but having a game plan in place if it did happen would make one look sharp.