FDIC Insured?

Picture this: my dad is in line at IndyMac Bank and in front of him is an elderly woman crying her eyes out because she can only get back $100,000 of the $300,000 she deposited in the FDIC insured bank! True story!

It turns out there are some tricks involving living trusts that can really bite you if your bank fails. This one involved beneficiaries that were not related to the depositor, so don't assume that if there are 3 people on the account, that it is FDIC insured up to $300,000.

The FDIC states that "no one has ever lost a penny of insured deposits", and the question you have to ask is "what exactly are insured deposits?" They tell you in this publication:
http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/insuringdeposits/index.html

So if you have more than $100,000 in any bank, please don't assume anything but check to make sure your deposits are really FDIC insured.

Adventures in Ocean Hills Country Club

It's been a while since my last post, Crystal and I have been super busy! We purchased a fixer house in Ocean Hills Country Club, which is the best senior community in San Diego. Since we do a lot of business there, we know the market well. So this property came up that needed work, and the heir didn't want to deal with it, and so we bought it at a fixer price. We then proceeded to rehab the property and within 2 weeks, we are now on the market.

The work begins.....

This home is now for sale, you can see more pictures at http://www.4746athos.com/!

Our hope is to make some money on this to help pay for the cabin addition (I'll talk about that in the next posting). Is it nerve-wracking to try to flip in this market? Yes, it is. Time is our enemy, as the market is going down and carrying costs can destroy any profit we hope to make. Nevetheless, we have to try. What other choice do we have? Give up and do nothing? Wait for a better day? I admit, it is tougher to make money when you're swimming upstream. But in a better market this opportunity would not have presented itself, since a couple years ago even fixers were selling quickly and for top dollar. Today buyers can be more picky, and will pass over properties that are in bad shape, which leaves a potential opportunity for those willing to do the work of fixing them up.

So did we make a huge mistake? Will we end up with no money and only the experience? (Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want!) Stay tuned!