So here's my thought, Pres Obama: The poor and the middle class have already taken their cuts.

[dkf]

5. Real estate is a lot riskier than stocks because it is LEVERAGED.

Yes that same thing we condemn banks and hedge funds for...

If you only put down 20% you have leveraged yourself 5 times your investment.

If you only put 5% down then you have leveraged yourself 20x your investment.

That oh so spooky idea of using margin to buy stocks only lets you margin 2x.

I find it enormously ironic that people are petrified of stocks yet have no clue how risky buying a house is.

The only way that type of risk makes sense is if you are pretty damned sure you can make those payments every single month for 30 years. So you better make sure you have resources to tap and that you keep that payment managable.

Stretching yourself on real estate only makes sense if you are prepared to walk away.