i've been in the real estate industry for about 20 years, as a lender. i've seen a lot of ups and downs in real estate values of course as everyone. but i've only seen a couple of comments of investing in realestate. not to be negative, but we're going to be going through another round of foreclosures as these 7yr loans come do, they won't be able to sell or refinance them without a lot of capital injection which most people don't have and they will need to go somewhere, i've been saying this to people for the last 4 +/- yrs, if i had a bunch of money to invest, i'd be snapping up renal homes in various areas, a friend of mine has over 110 last i heard, people that are loosing their homes need somewhere to go, in the northern CA area, rentals are hard to find, then hire a property management company to run them for you, on abver $20-$25 per door or property is what they charge per month. people need somewhere to go, now again, i'm not an expert, but i know i'd be buying 3 bed 2 bath single family homes, up to 4-plexes, 5 units and above is considered commercial finanaing and i'd stay away from that. apartment buildings are usually 10 yr loans and you can refi them, you just end up selling them, stick to the single family up to 4 units, and like someone else said, i wouldn't be looking here for your answer!!!!