Posts Tagged ‘credit score’
House for sale
My wife and I own a couple of rental properties, so I feel like I am qualified to give my 2 cents worth on another way of investing in real estate – owning rental properties directly.
Now let me be clear: owning rental properties is a business; it is no longer an arm’s-length investment. It is great for some people, people who are hands-on and disciplined, but it could be a disaster for others.
When we posted a notice to rent out our townhouse, the first person to answer was a single mother with three kids. My wife checked her credit – it was bad. When my wife said no to her, she could not hear the pleas of my bleeding heart: Rent it to her! She has three kids to take care of! We’ll waive her rent if she can’t pay!
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Inflation Ahead?
[Adapted from my Morningstar contribution] A year ago this month, after a trip to China I wrote ominously about inflation hitting the US economy like a tsunami.
My opinion was based on two observations:
- China’s labor costs were galloping at a 20% to 30% clip per year, and so much of what we consume is produced in China now.
- The Fed was printing money like crazy.
So far I have been wrong. The February 2011 inflation rate was 2.11%; though a slight uptick from 1.63% in January, it was by no mean a tsunami. Recently, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the Senate Banking Committee that the Fed projects an inflation rate of less than 2% for the next 3 years.
The Investment Scientist 