[Boomer]

Hi Kayaker,

Well, you asked for opinions so that's all this is, of course. But keep in mind, that the other "opinion" -- from a TV sales rep -- is also just that.

Or is it?

What else is a sales rep going to say?

And while that might have looked like a fairly substantiated opinion to have a few years back, I think that for the immediate future, all bets are off. I am afraid that this economic fiasco has just started to bare its fangs. And, like all of us, I sure hope its run is at least a short one. But I also do not believe that anybody really knows.

A TV sales rep's motivation is from a completely different angle than yours. I know you know that and you are factoring it in for what it's worth in the equation as you do your own math.

When I make a financial decision, I base it upon what I call "the cost of sleep."

I am a "take my time and gather information" type, too. I can make decisions, but not without my ducks all lined up in a row.

When you really crunch your own numbers to find your own personal cost of sleep, you will have your answer.

You will know how long you would be able to get some sleep while owning two homes and all the associated expenses of doing so. You will know if you want to be a landlord for awhile. And you will know how much you want to do all this right now or if you want to give it some more time and maybe rent for a month or so, here and there, along the way.

So my advice (since you asked) is to just take your time and think about the cost of sleep. That's how it works for me anyway. But I also recognize that individual sleep costs will vary.

Boomer