I live in Davenport, near Orlando. The same thing happened here as happened in PCB. I was able to buy a town home here for a quarter of the price it sold for in 2005. I feel pretty lucky. After I sold my house in Ohio,I was able to pay cash for my place here. I know one woman who bought three condos at the height of the market, all mortgaged, and now she is upside down on all three.
My son used to live in PCB, so I know exactly what you mean. I can picture those condos in my head as I type this. My son and I owned a lot on Eastern Lake near there during the frenzy. We were able to sell it for 3X the initial price after holding for four years. That was my biggest gain in anything to date.
Sounds like you did pretty well in PIP, and I can understand why you trade stocks now rather than invest. The market IS unpredictable. I think I am comfortable with BSDM because 1. I am already up 60%, and 2. what we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg.
Good luck in your trading,
Grandma
